Neyr Deus, the Story of the Four Birds
by Taeniaea
Summary: A year after the disbanding of Riot Force Six, the members have gathered for a reunion, only to be interrupted by a sudden Incident that leads to large civilian casualties and property destruction. In its wake, they discover two unusually talented girls.
1. Red Sky Inicident

**-Disclaimer-**

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

_**Fan-Original content includes:**_

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Unnamed Girl. Hinode Seitsu.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai, and Hiruko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter: **District III, District III Hospital

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn, and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:**_ Right, so Hime and I are at it _again._ Even while we're working on Hidden in the Dark Together (something I've only _really_ started helping her with recently... Last month or the month before, I think?), we're simultaneously writing this story, which has been around since... -Checks Calendar- ...October of 2010. Production in it has only really become consistent recently, so don't expect us to have an enormous pile of material to draw from... we don't. This is a sort of muse escape; when we're at an impasse with Hidden in the Dark's chapters, we write this one's. Technically speaking, this story is a crossover but the other work in question is unpublished... well, _part_ of it is on my account on fictionpress, but I digress. __This takes place after StrikerS; don't expect any plot-lines that come after StrikerS ends to make an appearance. Originally there weren't any canon characters, so we're doing our best to meld them in... Have a nice read. Don't get disappointed... and please, for the sake of not being befriended, _**REVIEW CONSTRUCTIVELY.**

**Taeniaea's Note:** _-Nods- Unless you want Nanoha or one of our characters to befriend you... -Sees a flaming red figure rushing at her from the horizon.- ...Something like that! -Runs-_

**(Rimshooter bows before teleporting next to Taeniaea and running alongside her for a few seconds until she notices him, and then promptly grabs her arm and teleports elsewhere as the fire melts the camera, cutting off the feed.)**

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><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

_**Past to Present One: Red Sky Incident**_

* * *

><p><strong>-May 13, 0077: 1200 Hours-<strong>

**-Subaru**

Fire licked at Subaru's feet as she raced through the streets of southern Cranaagan. Above, whatever strange particles the wide-area anti-magic field yielded drifted down like snow. The girl passed countless unmoving bodies, riddled with holes, unrecognizably charred, or both. They were already dead, but Subaru held onto the hope there was still someone left she could save. Some floating drones about the size of Subaru's torso were dispatched with a pair of punches from her Revolver Knuckle as she continued through. It was a vision of hell. The screams had long since stopped, and the relief teams had failed to save those civilians closest to the epicenter of the assault. Subaru was still certain that someone else had survived. Someone else _had_ to have survived. Too many were already dead.

She turned a corner and paused. There, in front of a burning warehouse, eyes peering blankly out of a pile of ruined drone parts and cybernetics, was a survivor. "Stay still, I'll get you out!" Subaru shouted, immediately rushing over and digging through the various pieces of mechanics, now completely unrecognizable. It wasn't long before she could make out a head, covered in hair blue as Subaru's own, but slightly lighter. Encouraged, Subaru dug faster and soon a small girl, around Vivio's age, tumbled out of the pile. Hastily, Subaru checked her for injuries. Finding none, the teen lifted the small girl and raced out of the area.

* * *

><p><strong>-At the Same Time<strong>

**-Fate**

Like Subaru, Fate was also searching for survivors. Elsewhere the other members of Riot Force Six, having converged in this area for a reunion, were searching for more survivors.

'_Mass based weapons.'_ Fate thought as the cleaved a drone that had opened fire on her in half, not pausing in her haste. '_I can see why they're banned now...'_ Fate's train of thought was cut short when she heard a small cry. Quickly, she rushed to it, finding a girl in the middle of a street, under the body of someone who had sheltered her. Fate moved to assist her, and time seemed to slow down as a masked android materialized next to the girl, left arm elongated into a blade. The android had the girl in its arms before Fate could do anything, and just as quickly it ran the child through in a horrid display of gore. For a moment, Fate was stunned... and then she was enraged, rushing the android as it tossed the girl aside. Just as Fate swung at it, the android was gone. In vain, Fate checked the girl's body to see if it could be saved. The girl's eyes, wide with fright and dulled by death, were a rich shade of violet, and her hair, long and tangled, was black. As several more drones arrived, Fate turned from the girl's silent, pleading expression and faced them.

* * *

><p><strong>-Simultaneously<strong>

-**District III Hospital**

The hospital was swamped with survivors from the incident nearby in addition to the original patients. Even as medics and volunteers rushed to aid the staff. Outside a sizable contingent of Bureau agents defended the hospital from drones. In one of the rooms, the doctor's were having particular trouble with one of the original patients who was recovering from severe physical trauma. She was a small girl, with violet eyes, and she was struggling heroically to break the casts on her arms and leg and escape the hospital, shouting about her twin and needing to go save her. The staff would have pitied her if she wasn't so hard to keep bound. Straps didn't do anything. _Binding spells_ were shaken off in a few seconds as, apparently, the girl knew a decline-type spell.

That was when one of the military doctors, Shamal, arrived. She cast a binding spell and, before it could be shaken off, injected a powerful sedative into the girl. As the girl finally quieted down and drifted into unconsciousness, if she was ever fully conscious at all, and turned to the staff present, "We don't have any time to waste. Go tend to the other patients while I make sure she doesn't wake up any time soon." The staff nodded and left, leaving Shamal alone with the girl. The Knight of the Lake place a hand on the girl's forehead, brushing some of her jet-black hair aside and marveling at her. "Your sister is fortunate to have you." She said, before setting the IV drip to include a more minor sedative to keep the girl asleep and leaving.

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><p><strong>-Riot Force Six Rendezvous Point<strong>

After the last of the drones had been dealt with and the fires put out, the remainders of Riot Force Six met up in front of Long Arch, relatively far away from the site of the Incident, but still close enough that you could see the columns of smoke rising in the distance. Subaru rolled up, noting everyone was present but Shamal, who was still at the hospital, and Fate, was present. "Who's this?" Nanoha asked with a tense smile, gesturing to the small girl Subaru was giving a piggy-back ride. "I don't know. She won't let go, and she won't say anything... She just stares off into space when she's not looking at me... Where's Fate?"

Right on cue, Fate showed up, her face an expressionless mask as her feet touched the ground. "Fate!" Nanoha called, before losing her enthusiasm as concern washed over her face, "What happened?"

All at once Fate's mask crumbled and she fell into Nanoha's waiting arms. "I couldn't save her..." The blonde whispered, "She was right there..."

"...Right there..." The enforcer repeated.

* * *

><p><strong>-1230 Hours-<strong>

**-Within Long Arch**

It had taken a lot of effort, but Fate had finally calmed down enough to explain what had traumatized her so.

"...After I dealt with the drones, when I turned around... her body wasn't even there anymore." Fate's voice was markedly soft and filled with a notable hint of aggression... It didn't take a genius to figure out who that was for.

"Don't worry too much Fate-chan, We'll catch the culprits." Nanoha assured her friend.

"We should check up with Shamal." Hayate proposed.

All around, the former members of Riot Force Six nodded, though Subaru had a little difficulty given the girl attached to her back. The various mages gathered had all attempted to remove her one way or another but had been met with no success. And so Subaru continued to carry the girl as they headed off to the hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>-District III Hospital<strong>

The hospital was still chaotic, but had grown more organized now that the influx of patients had slowed down. The strikers split up upon arriving, going to help out where they could, with the exception of Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, and Subaru, who hoped Shamal would be able to help her with the girl, who had yet to receive any sort of attention beyond Subaru's rescue. Hayate pulled a nurse aside, asking where they could find Shamal, and was directed to a room on the seventeenth floor. "She's watching a patient that's been giving us problems... The girl keeps trying to get up and leave, even though the only thing she can move properly is her left leg.

Upon exiting the elevator, the group's ears was met with a verbal argument clearly audible from here. "Let me out! I need to help her!" A small girl shouted.

"You're not going anywhere until your limbs are healed, young lady." Came Shamal's voice in response. Following the argument, they saw Shamal standing over a bed housing a heavily bandaged girl. All limbs save her left leg were in casts, and she was not only strapped to the bed, but held in place by one of Shamal's binding spells. Were it not for the previous Incident, the four of them would have seat-dropped at the sight.

"Having trouble Shamal?" Hayate asked.

Shamal didn't turn around when she responded, "Yes, actually, I am... Somehow, the drugs I was using to sedate her before aren't having any effect anymore and she keeps breaking the straps, and even my Commandment Chain, and everything else I've used to keep her in place. She just won't sit still."

It was Nanoha's turn to speak, "How is she breaking out with three of her limbs in casts?"

"I have no idea." The knight of the lake replied exasperatedly, "Raw willpower, I'd guess. Whatever the reason, I'm still working on a way to keep her still, she's hysterical. She's completely tuned me and everyone else who comes by out." As she spoke, the barrier bind imprisoning the girl shattered, only to be replaced an instant later. "Sooner or later she's going to wear herself out." And, on cue, the girl finally burned her energy out and entered into a restless sleep. Subaru felt the girl on her back shift and glanced out of the corner of her eye to see that her charge was now staring at the girl resting fitfully on the bed. "Well," Shamal spoke, turning around, "now that she's finally settled down..." It was at that moment the doctor noticed the stony-faced girl on Subaru's back and the pleading expression said striker had.

"Could you take a look at this one? We haven't been able to get her off me since I first rescued her..." As said this, the girl's blank stare shifted to Shamal, who stiffened slightly as their eyes met, before shaking it off and approaching Subaru.

"Of course," the healer replied, stepping beside Subaru. "Would you get off?" She asked, despite everyone present's warnings that the girl would ignore her. To their surprise, after staring at Shamal a moment, the strange girl acquiesced and allowed Subaru to put her down, continuing to stare up into Shamal's eyes as she did so. "Thank you." The blond said as she took the girl's hand, and, upon meeting no resistance, led her over to the wall where another bed was pulled out, opposite the other patient's. The girl was then lifted and placed into the bed for Shamal to check over. It wasn't a long process.

"She doesn't appear to have any exterior wounds..." The healer informed as she inspected the girl, "...or interior, for that matter." Shamal stood up as she continued, "I can't see anything wrong with her, other than whatever mental trauma she suffered during the incident. Far as I can tell, she's perfectly aware of everything that's going on, as demonstrated by her giving everything she sees a cursory inspection." At this, Shamal gestured to where the blue-haired girl was glancing at a nearby pulse-reader, and then at the closed windows.

"So... she's fine?" Subaru asked, only for Shamal to shake her head.

"Physically, yes. Magically... it seems that way, but the scan isn't finished. Mentally, there's something terribly wrong with her. She may be aware of her surroundings, but she's not paying much attention to anything unless it's drawn... For instance, here I am talking about her and yet..." Shamal gestured to the girl in question again, showing that she was now staring at the ceiling. "I'm not a psychiatrist, so there's not much I can do to help here, even with my years of experience."

Those gathered nodded, already aware of the venerable, even if she didn't seem that way, knight's limitations. "I'll make a notice for her to try and get her the attention she needs, but considering how swamped we are, I don't know if it'll go through any time soon." Shamal continued as she walked over to the other patient, pulling back the curtain to adjust the girl's IV drip and fix the straps that had been binding her. As she did, Fate stiffened.

"She looks just like her." The enforcer spoke, garnering everyone's attention.

"Like who?" Shamal asked.

Fate took a moment to steady herself as she replied, "Like the girl I couldn't save."

"That's because it was her twin..." Everyone turned to the unfamiliar voice to find a girl around Subaru's age standing in the doorway. She looked like an older version of the girl in the hospital bed.

"And you're...?" Shamal started.

"Her older sister, Hinode." The newcomer finished, walking over to the bed and placing a pair of gems on the tray next to the girl. "I was coming to deliver her device to her, I just finished it today... Her sister's too, but..." Hinode trailed off, and no one needed to know what she was about to say.

"How do you know it's your younger sister Fate was talking about?" Nanoha asked.

Hinode shrugged, "...I couldn't find little Ren and Fate here recognizes Iri."

"Couldn't find her?" Subaru asked.

"I went looking for Ren first. After all, Iri's hospitalized... Ren wasn't... She wouldn't stay stationary. Around this time she would've probably been on her way to visit Iri... I searched the route between here and our home several times, as well as all the places she would've run to..." Hinode didn't look like she wanted to continue, and no one wanted to press her. "I think Iri would want the device her sister never had... I've got other things to do, there's so much happening right now..." Hinode looked down at Iri sadly, waving her hands over the gems. "Watch over her, Memory of Dawn, Hope for Dawn..."

"It was nice making your acquaintance, Aces, Shamal. I'll be back when things settle down." With that, the elder sister left. As Hinode vanished down the hall, Reia's scan signaled it was done. Subaru turned from the door to Shamal, who was standing at the station adjacent the as yet still unnamed girl's bed.

"This is... odd." Shamal spoke, prompting several curious stares, "It's like I'm looking at you, Nanoha, but... Her linker core is enormous for someone her age, but I can only see part of it. The rest of it is sealed off by some sort of seal on her forehead."

"Limiters?" Hayate suggested, only for Shamal to shake her head.

"I can see through limiters – they block the channeling of magic, but this... it's suppressing the magic itself."

"How much?" Fate asked quietly.

Shamal turned to her as the girl on the bed stared at her curiously, "Extensively... I think this girl has just as much magical potential as Nanoha would if her Linker Core hadn't been crippled... at least."

"That's... scary." Subaru inserted, breaking the silence that had followed Shamal's statement.

"So," Nanoha said, "We're looking at a future ace, if she goes into the Armed Forces."

"Indeed." Shamal said, turning to Iri, who continued to lay on her bed in a fitful sleep, "and I think this one has just about as much potential. It felt like I was dealing with you." There was a small thumping noise as, apparently, the unnamed girl grew tired of staying in place and had determined there was no longer a reason to do so. As all heads turned to her in unison, the girl walked over to Subaru and looked at her expectantly, prompting Subaru to scratch the back of her head nervously.

"Only until we reach the orphanage, okay?" Subaru spoke, garnering a nod, before turning to Shamal, "She can leave, right?" Shamal nodded, and as Subaru set off for the orphanage the Aces' meeting broke up impromptu as they each went their separate ways, remembering something to do or finding something in the absence of the former.

* * *

><p><strong>Character Profiles<strong>

Iriai Seitsu (Setting of the Sun + Love – Spirit + Steal)

Nickname: Iri

Age: 8

Birth Date: May 14, 0069

Eye Color: Pale Violet

Hair Color: Jet Black

Hair Style:: Medium length, reaching her chin.

Talents: Concentration, Physical Arts, Balance Exercises, Sketching

Living Relatives: Hinode Seitsu, Elder Sister – Eight Years Difference

ND

Hinode Seitsu (Sunrise – Spirit + Steal)

Nickname: Hino (Light + Field)

Age: 16

Birth Date: April 3, 0061

Eye Color: Dark Violet

Hair Color: Jet Black

Hair Style: Long, held bound in a braid that reaches her mid-back with the exception of a pair of short bangs that frame her face, reaching the bottom of her eyes in length.

Talents: Concentration, Physical Arts, Physical Exercises and Magical Exercises, Painting

Living Relatives: Iriai Seitsu, Younger Sister – Eight Years Difference

ND

Hiruko Seitsu (Daytime + Child – Spirit + Steal)

Nickname: Ren (Company)

Age: 8 (Deceased)

Birth Date: May 14, 0069

Death Date: May 14, 0077

Eye Color: Vibrant Violet

Hair Color: Jet black.

Hair Style: Medium length, reaching her chin.

Talents: Reading, Remembering, Mental and Magical Exercises

Living Relatives: Iriai Seitsu, Twin Sister – One Minute Difference, Hinode Seitsu, Elder Sister – Eight Years Difference


	2. Adoption, Discharge, and Adaptation

**-Disclaimer-**

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. All of the franchise was written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

_**Fan-Original content includes:**_

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter:**Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to **Rimshooter:, District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter:**Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea:**Memory of Dawn, and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:**_ 'Lonely Soul' – a tribute to one of my poems. I'm not sure about Hayate's rank, so if I get it wrong, feel free to correct me. It was my call on it, not Hime's. By the way, I discovered something interesting... Did you know Signum is voiced by the same person who did Lain in Serial Experiments Lain? She did several other characters, but I found that one kind of surprising._

**Taeniaea's Note:** _Enjoy the chapter, and please REVIEW CONSTRUCTIVELY, if you review at all... Or just say you like it if you do and can't find anything constructive to put. -Is pulled aside and teleported away by Rimshooter, whose hair is slightly singed.-_

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

_**Past to Present Zero-One: Adoption, Discharge, and Adaptation**_

* * *

><p><strong>May 23, Year 0077, 1407 Hours<strong>

**-District IV - Lonely Soul's Orphanage**

**-Hayate**

Hayate had been unable to find the free time to do this for a while, and on the day she finally had it, the sky was gray and rain was pouring down on Cranaagan. Still, that would not stop her as she drove to the place she was looking for. She drove around the back, which held a large playground, empty in the rain, and pulled around to the front, passing the trees and shrubbery that surrounded the building on three sides. There, she parked her car in the relatively empty parking lot and locked it behind her. A sign to her immediate left, large and stone, proclaimed the building's name and purpose proudly. "Lonely Soul's Orphanage."

Comparing it to the information on her pad quickly to assure herself this was the right place, Hayate walked up to the large, three-story building it was and entered into the lobby. It was a relatively spartan affair with clean, tiled floor. The column in the center of the walls to her left and right framed the lobby, which was small despite the size of the building. In the back, between two doors, sat the receptionist desk, and behind the desk sat the receptionist, who had turned from a book she had been reading to see Hayate entering. Immediately, recognition lit in the woman's eyes, though Hayate had never met her personally... She was a well-known figure in Mid-Childa, as were Nanoha, Fate, and pretty much the rest of the former members of Riot Force Six, to varying degrees. As the commander and one of the three highest ranking and powerful members, Hayate made an iconic image that was sold by the Bureau as a sort of 'discreet' propaganda to encourage more civilians to enlist.

"Lieutenant Colonel Yagami, how can I help you?" The receptionist, a young woman in her mid-twenties with hair around the same shade as Hayate's own, asked politely.

Used to being called by name by strangers, Hayate simply stated her business, "I'm here to inquire about a girl that was admitted two weeks ago on the fourteenth. Her hair was blue, as were her eyes, and we couldn't find any family for her or get her to tell her name."

"Ah, I think I know who you're talking about. She still hasn't said anything. A lot of kids were admitted that day, a lot of them were adopted, but she's still here. Do you want to adopt her?" The woman, a Marina Rice going by her plaque, answered.

"Yes, but I'd like to meet her first." Hayate replied.

The woman nodded, smiling sweetly, "Ah, her room's number twelve on the third floor, facing the parking lot. Stairs are the third door on the left through the left door. Don't let me hold you up."

Hayate gave her a nod and slight bow in response before following the woman's directions. '_For an orphanage, I'm not seeing many children.'_ Hayate thought as she ascended the steps. '_Then again, it's rainy outside. They're probably gathered in one spot or in their rooms.'_

Coming to the third floor hall, which was had a floor to ceiling window after every room, Hayate set about locating number twelve. After a brief search, she ended up directly above the lobby. With a brief pause, she stepped up to the door and knocked. When she didn't get a response, Hayate tried the knob and, finding it unlocked, opened the door. The girl's room was rather simple. Its furniture consisted of a bed laying flush with the fall wall and a dresser on the right. There weren't, Hayate noted, any toys or personal belongings laying around, aside from two stacks of papers on the dresser, one blank and the other, smaller in size, written on. Highlighted against the thinly curtained window that dominated the far wall, the girl in question was laying in bed, reading a book, though she turned to Hayate when the young woman opened the door.

"Hi." Hayate said with a pleasant smile and a small wave. In response, the girl did little more than nod. "Remember me?" Another small nod. Slightly put out, Hayate walked over to the papers, "What are these?" She asked, rhetorically because she could tell it that the girl had been writing poetry on them from a glance... Hayate's question went unanswered, though, as the girl simply continued to stare at her.

"So..." Hayate spoke, slightly put out by the girl's lack of response, "I head that Subaru's taken to visiting you." Again, her response was a nod. "Can you even talk?" Hayate exclaimed quietly, exasperated. The girl nodded again, prompting Hayate to let out a sigh. Then Hayate noticed something; the girl's eyes had shifted from Hayate's face to her bag, where Rein was sleeping. '_Can she tell Rein's there?'_

"There something odd about my bag?" Hayate asked, and the girl nodded. "What?"

In response, the girl placed her bookmark in her book, shut it, and walked over to Hayate, pointing at the portion of the bag Hayate knew Rein dwelt in. Internally, Hayate raised an eyebrow, though instead she feigned curiosity as she opened the bag, revealing a sleeping Reinforce Zwei who stirred fitfully at the sudden change in lighting, peaking open her eyes to see Hayate staring down at her, along with the girl. "Mmh... Hayate?" Rein asked sleepily, "What do you need?" The sprite-like unison device asked as she floated out of Hayate's bag.

"Nothing much, the little one here was curious about you." Hayate responded, prompting Rein's sleepy mind to jump-start itself. Instantly, the little sprite was wide-awake and inspecting the girl, who was inspecting Rein at the same time.

"Hi! I'm Reinforce Zwei, but everyone calls me Rein. Who are you?" The girl didn't say anything in response. "Do you know?" Rein asked, and the girl shook her head in the negative. At this, Hayate gave an internal sigh of relief; that was one question answered.

"Rein," Hayate spoke, "This is soon to be the newest member of our family." At Rein's curious, "Oh?" and the girl's gaze shifting back to Hayate, the former commander of Riot Force Six continued, "Yep!" She turned to the girl, "Can you gather your things?" The girl nodded, and Hayate nodded to herself. "I'm going to go downstairs and finalize things... Do you have any bags for your stuff?" The girl shook her head, and Hayate started speaking once more, "I'll get you some bags from the car too, then."

With that, Hayate set off back down the stairs as the girl began to collect her stuff. '_If she's going to be a part of the family, she needs a name... we can't just keep calling her 'the girl.''_ Hayate thought as she filled out the paperwork the receptionist had readied for her. Marveling at the speed of the bureau's bureaucracy, Hayate went out to her car and collected the three-pocketed suit case and bag she had prepared for the girl she was to adopt. '_One of these days, I'll remember my umbrella when it's rainy outside... At least I'm wearing my overcoat.'_

Hayte carried the as yet empty bags up to the girl's room to find that the girl had already emptied her drawers. There were eight outfits, each in its own separate pile on the bed: one for each day of the week and one for more formal affairs if it were ever warranted. Helping her pack, Hayate thought of how little the girl had, and then remembered she was an orphan whose identity was unknown in all senses of the word. Given that, it was unsurprising that she didn't have many material possessions. All she had was the outfit she was found in, really; the rest must have come from donations. Stowing the paper in the second-smallest pocket, Hayate noticed the girl hadn't packed the book and had removed her bookmark from it. "Does it belong to the orphanage?" Hayate asked, already knowing the answer.

The girl nodded, and Hayate picked it up and memorized the title: _The Aces of the Bureau._ It was a book published once every five years including information on the various Aces that came into the Bureau. Included was a bio and career history of Nanoha, Fate, herself, and the various other aces: those in service as well as those retired. "I have a copy at home, do you remember your page?" The girl nodded and Hayate returned it. "I'll let you borrow it after I've introduced you to everybody..." After that, Hayate remembered one of her major dilemmas with this girl. "By the way, I can't just keep calling you... "You." Is there anything you want to be called?" When the girl shook her head in the negative, Hayate was quick to continue, "Well, I'll just have to think of something to call you on the way to my house, okay?" The girl nodded, and Hayate zipped the suitcase shut and lifted it, looking to the bag. "Guess we didn't need that after all, huh?" She spoke, trying in vain to engage the girl in small talk.

Once again, all Hayate got for her efforts was a brief nod.

Sighing, Hayate led the girl down to the car, waving good-bye to the receptionist as she passed. Placing her key in the ignition and doing her best to ignore the cold chill her damp clothing gave her, Hayate set off for the home she and the rest of her family dwelt in. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl staring at out the window in the passenger's seat. "What are you staring at?" Hayate asked, and the girl placed her finger on the window. "That doesn't tell me anything." Hayate responded.

The girl remained silent a few more moments before she finally said something, "Raindrops."

"You _can_ speak!" Hayate exclaimed softly, and the girl merely nodded.

The drive remained silent for a while after that as Rein slept in Hayate's bag as she had since the drive began. Eventually, Hayate broke the ice once more, "I think I know what to call you now." The girl remained silent. "Ame-chan. It means 'Rain.' What do you think? Do you like it?"

The girl remained still, deliberating, before nodding.

"Alright!" Hayate cheered at her small success. Throughout the rest of the drive, Ame remained silent despite Hayate's attempts to get her to speak. In the end, Hayate parked the car in their garage without event. The two sat there for a few more moments in silence before Hayate opened the door to her seat and stepped out, prompting Ame to do the same. Once within, Hayate flicked on the light and led Ame in onto the mahogany floor of the entry hall.

"This is the entry hall." Hayate led Ame to the right. Abruptly the wall on their right vanished, revealing the kitchen. An open arch lead to the living room; a simple affair with a wide TV and a pair of couches facing it. "Your room," Hayate said as she led Ame to a door on the left-hand wall, next to the arch, "is this." Hayate opened the door to reveal a twin-sized bed on the far wall. To the immediate left was a dresser, and flush against the left wall was a desk and chair situated between the head of the bed and the left edge of the dresser. The walls were bleach white. "It was the guest room, but no one ever really stayed over." Hayate explained as Ame set her suitcase, which she had received from the car's back seat, next to the only wall not bearing any furniture. "Do you like it?"

Ame nodded, turning to Hayate questioningly.

"The laundry is down the hall, between the bathroom and the stairs. Upstairs is another hallway the divides the house. On your left will be Vita's room. Opposite that will be Signum and Shamal's room, and the other remaining room on their wall is mine, which conjoins with theirs... Zafira sleeps wherever he feels like. To your right there is the upstairs bathroom..." Hayate paused, "Did you get all that?"

Ame nodded, and Hayate continued, "Right... everyone else is off doing something right now – Shamal is at the hospital, Signum is fetching groceries with Zafira, and Vita's helping Nanoha train some recruits... The book you were reading is in the library in my room; I'll go get it now while you unpack."

Ame nodded again as Hayate left her, heading up the stairs and to her room. The book wasn't hard to find, but Hayate took her time, thinking about how Ame would fit into life in the Yagami household. Thus far, it looked like getting the solemn child to open up was going to prove difficult.

Book in hand, Hayate returned to Ame's room to find that the near-perpetually silent girl had already finished unpacking. It wasn't too surprising, since Ame didn't have much to pack. Handing the book to the girl, Hayate noticed that the two stacks of papers were now on the desk. Gesturing to them, Hayate asked, "You mind if I read?" Ame shrugged as she settled onto the bed, book in hand, and opened it up, flipping through several pages before coming to a stop and reading what was written.

Hayate took that as an okay and sat down in the chair facing the desk and picking up a paper, reading it silently...

_Laying on the streets of the city was a bird, which had tried to fly and found it could not. It was lost and knew not the way home; it did not even know what home was like. It knew not its name. It knew not its purpose. It knew only the cold metal embracing it, and beyond that, the fire threatening it... Until it was saved, by a silver angel, of flesh and metal, which took it to meet several more angels. They all glowed brightly, and their light served to comfort the bird._

_To guide it. To let it know that what it saw was real, and not just a dream._

_Then-_

"Hayate Yagami." Ame spoke suddenly, drawing the girl from her reading. Slightly startled, Hayate turned to Ame, whose face was still buried in the book. "Born June 5, 0059. Her homeworld is Non-administrated world number 97 – Earth. She is a member of the Armed Forces' special investigations branch and as of July 1, 0077, held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel-"

"Are you reading my file?"Hayate asked, cutting Ame off and garnering a brief nod in response. The girl met Hayate's eyes evenly and didn't look the slight bit sheepish. "I don't mind, but why are you reading it aloud?"

In response, Ame shrugged. "Hayate." She said, almost as if she were testing the sound of the name on her tongue, "Why?"

Hayate's eyebrow rose, "Why what?"

"Why me?" Ame clarified.

"Well... Because you're you." Hayate answered simply, "Do I need a reason?"

Ame didn't answer, simply staring at Hayate, before turning back to her book. Hayate watched her for a few moments before standing up.

"Don't go." Ame spoke as Hayate moved to open the door, prompting Hayate to turn around in surprise. "Everyone always leaves... Don't go." The girl continued, whispering at the end. Hayate cocked her head, wondering exactly what Ame was thinking, before sitting down again.

"Thank you." It was so quiet as to be almost inaudible, but Hayate heard it all the same and smiled a small smile to herself.

"Your welcome."

* * *

><p><strong>1530 Hours, At the Same Time<strong>

**-District III Civilian Hospital**

-**Hinode Seitsu**

When Hinode entered Iri's room upon her younger sister checking out, Iri was sketching something in her sketch pad, her hair cut short and the devices Hinode made for her and her twin sister around her neck. "Hey Iri." At her name, the girl looked up from her sketch pad, eyes a little more full of life than they had been the day after the Incident that took her sister away.

"Hino-nee." Iri replied, "Am I getting discharged now?"

"Yep." Hinode answered, "Need help with anything?" She asked in turn, only for Iri to shake her head.

"No. I don't have anything but some clothes in a bag, the devices, and my sketch pad and pencil."

"Alright." Hinode said as Iri closed the sketch pad. A doctor came in with a wheel chair, as Iri's casts had just come off the day before. As Hinode helped the doctor get Iri into the chair, she noticed the younger staring out the window at the decimated District III.

"Don't worry about our house, I managed to save most of our stuff before it collapsed... We're living in District IV now." For Hinode's efforts, Iri nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"One of the girls I saved will be staying with us. She doesn't even remember her previous family and life, and she's around your age, so try and befriend her, alright?" Hinode asked, receiving something of a dark look from the doctor and shrugging in response.

"I'll try." Iri assured, continuing to stare out the window until they wheeled her out of the room and to the elevator. The hospital seemed strangely quiet today... More so than it usually was. As the elevator doors slid shut, Hinode supposed she was imagining things.

On the first floor, the reminders of the Incident were ever present in the excess patients passed along the way out and the relief camp still set up in the main parking lot outside. Hinode pushed Iri to the side, away from the relief camp and into another lot,t his one full of cars. Quickly, Iri was wheeled past the cars and down the road. The two walked in silence, one in a wheel-chair, the other pushing it as the scenery about them returned to normal. They had entered the small portion of District III that had escaped the Incident unscathed. After a brief walk, they reached the terminal and the tram that lead them up and around District IIIs remains to District IV.

Eventually, the tram lowered back to the ground and the pair's former home was hid from view. Now Hinode took her time wheeling Iri, pointing out various landmarks and features of the, to Iri, unfamiliar district. Soon, they came upon their new house, a simple one story affair surrounded by houses just like it. Within, the flooring was wooden in every room save the living room and bed rooms, which were covered in a beige carpet. "Tadaima!" Hinode called.

"Tadaima." Iri echoed, more subdued.

"Yume-chan," Hinode called again, "Come meet Iri!" At Hinode's words, a small girl about Iri's size came from one of the rooms that was previously closed off. She stood a bit shorter than Iri, and her hair was long and white as snow. Her eyes were the color of the sky, and her skin was almost as pale as her hair. "Iri," Hinode started, "this is Yume-chan." The eldest member of the family then turned to Yumeko, "Yumeko, this is Iri-chan."

At each other's names, the two gave a small bow to each other. The two stared at each other for a while, with Hinode looking on curiously, before eventually one of them took the initiative. Iri handed Hinode her sketch book and then went off into the room Yumeko had come out from, leading the smaller girl by the hand. Following them, Hinode saw Iri questioning Yumeko quietly about the book she had been reading. Nodding to herself, Hinode figured they'd be getting along fine. "I'll be in my room, call me if you need me." She said as she left, prompting the to girls in the room to just nod and continue their discussion.

As Hinode closed the door behind her, revealing her rather spartan room consisting of a bed, a desk with chair and computer, and a closet, Hinode sat down at the computer, face hardening as she began researching. At the top of the screen, in the search-box, were the words, "Groups known to use cyborgs and drones."

* * *

><p><strong>1600 Hours<strong>

**-Yagami Residence**

**-Hayate**

In the time since the relatively awkward moment Hayate and Ame had shared, Hayate had read through the rest of Ame's 'poems' and identified them as a fantasy-esk diary, of sorts. Ame identified herself as the flightless bird, the aces and other mages she encountered as angels, and other people as 'birds that could fly.' What Hayate found most interesting, though, was the way the girl referred to subaru.

'_A silver angel, of flesh and metal, hm?'_ Hayate thought to herself, glancing over at the girl, who remained engrossed in her book. '_How did she come up with that?'_ It was then Hayate remembered how the girl had found Rein even though the unison device was, as she is now, sleeping in Hayate's bag. _'What does she see with those eyes of hers?'_ Hayate wondered.

Hayate was cut from her musing as she heard the door open and the sound of voices. Apparently, Signum and Zafira were home. Ame turned to the sound as well, tilting her head curiously and staring in their general direction with those blank, yet oddly focused eyes of hers. "Signum and Zafira?" The girl asked, prompting Hayate to almost start.

"How'd you know?" Hayate asked, and in response, Ame pointed to the door, where you could hear them talking in the kitchen.

"They have groceries." The girl said simply, and Hayate blanched. Shrugging it off, Hayate opened the door, prompting Signum and Zafira to turn in surprise from where they were putting groceries away.

"Hayate." Signum greeted, "have you picked up the young one?"

Hayate nodded in response, turning into the room to Ame, who was still staring at Signum and Zafira, and beckoning her out. The girl paused, before marking her place in the book and coming over. Hayate placed her left hand on the girl's right shoulder, "This is Ame-chan, the newest member of our family... She didn't have a name when she was adopted so I named her Ame because the first thing I managed to get her to say was 'Raindrop.' Ame, this is Signum and Zafira."

The three of them exchanged a stare, before nodding to each other, and Ame spoke once more. "Signum Yagami, self-dubbed the General of the Raging Fire. Born in 0046. Her homeworld is Earth, and she was a member of the Capital Air Force, 1038th squadron, before transferring into Riot Force Six under the command of Hayate Yagami. Upon that division's dissolving, she transferred back to the Air Force." Ame turned to Zafira, "Zafira Yagami. Date of birth unspecified, homeworld unspecified. Refrained from active duty until joining Riot Force Six under the command of Hayate Yagami. A Belkan 'Guardian Beast.'"

Signum and Zafira each rose an eyebrow, and Hayate rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly, "I lent her _A Book of Aces_, and she's been researching us since."

"I see..." Signum trailed off.

"Why are you borrowing Hayate's magic?" Ame asked, prompting everyone in the room to turn and stare at her.

"Did you-?" Zafira started, only to be cut off by Hayate.

"No, I didn't. How do you know they're using my magic?" Hayate asked.

"...I can see it." The girl in question responded simply.

Hayate's brow rose, "You can _see it_?"

Ame nodded. "You can't?"

Already, Hayate was feeling a headache coming from this. '_That explains a lot...'_

"No, I can't." Hayate answered, "At least, not the way you can... What does it look like?"

The girl paused, staring at Signum, Zafira, and Hayate, before responding, "Glowing strings, running from balls of yarn in them to a large ball of yarn in you. There are three more strings, too..."

"Rein, Shamal, and Vita." Hayate answered the coming question and sighed. This was going to be a hassle. "Ame-chan... you can't tell anyone about what you're seeing, okay?"

Ame nodded, "Why?"

"Because... it's a family secret. Only a few people are allowed to know, okay?" Hayate explained lamely.

Ame nodded, "And if I see something else like it?"

"Then that's probably just a mage and their familiar, which isn't a big secret at all, though it might make them... uncomfortable... if you point out their connection without even knowing them that well."

Ame nodded again, "Sorry, then." She said to the wolkenritter standing across from her.

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown Time that Day<strong>

**-Unknown Location**

**-Unknown Point of View**

Elsewhere, in a darkened room, the shadowed figure of a man stood, watching four pods, two of which were dark, and two of which were glowing brightly, a pair of small children floating within them. Next to him, the silhouette of a girl, in her mid teens, appeared.

"Soon." He said, "The Reclamation has begun."

"And we'll get the things we've lost back?" The girl asked.

"Yes," The man replied gently, "And so much more..."

"So much more..." He whispered, caressing the glass of one of the glowing pods.

* * *

><p><strong>Character Profiles<strong>

Ame Yagami (Rain – Eight + God)

Nickname: None

Age: Around 8

Birth Date: Unknown

Eye Color: Sapphire Blue

Hair Color: Light Blue Hair

Hair Style: Reaches the back of her neck. The front's bangs are trimmed.

Talents: Concentration, Reading, Mental Exercises, Theory, Magical Exercises

Living Relatives: Yagami Family (Adopted), Blood Relatives Unknown, Assumed Dead

ND

Yumeko Seitsu (Dream + Child – Spirit + Steal)

Nickname: Yume

Age: Around 8

Birth Date: Unknown

Eye Color: Sky Blue

Hair Color: White

Hair Style: Long, reaches her mid-back.

Talents: Concentration, Reading, Mental Exercises, Memory

Living Relatives: Seitsu Family (Adopted), Blood Relatives Unknown, Assumed Dead


	3. A Regular Life

**-Disclaimer-**

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji ****Hasegawa. All of the franchise was written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attr****ibuted to Rimshooter:**Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to ****Rimshooter**:, District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn, and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:**** Apologies for the long delay, I was away at camp for the past three weeks and have been unable to work on the story conistently... I was on a roll before I left too.**

**Taeniaea's Note:**** To any of you who've read Hidden in the Dark or are in the process of reading it, we'll be getting back to it soon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Zero-Two: A Regular Life**

* * *

><p><strong>May 25, 0077; 0600 Hours<strong>

**-Yagami Residence**

**-Hayate**

It had taken a great deal of paperwork and pencil pushing on Hayate's part, but she had managed to enroll Ame in the St. Hilde Academy of Magic. Initially, Hayate had been uncertain if she should enroll Ame there or another score, but in the wake of learning of Ame's unique ability, Hayate had shown Ame a basic spell and asked Ame to replicate. When Ame mimicked the spell perfectly, Hayate had figured she'd be fine.

And thus Hayate was currently helping the girl adjust her uniform properly. Handing Ame the bag that had gone unused two nights ago during the young girl's move in, now stocked with the various supplies Ame would need, Hayate took her by the hand and led her out of the house and down the road. At a cross-section three blocks away from their house, Hayate glanced at a street clock before stopping and standing off to the side, prompting Ame to turn to her curiously.

"A bus?" Ame questioned, only for Hayate to shake her head.

"A friend." She responded simply, and Ame turned back to staring to into space.

'_Let's see,'_ Hayate thought, '_It's 6:34, Nanoha should be here with Vivio any minute.'_

Almost on cue, Ame pulled on her adopted guardian's sleeve, pointing in the distance. On cue, Nanoha turned the corner, looking down at Vivio, who was holding her hand, and talking to her. "...And there they are." Hayate said, mostly to herself. "Nanoha!" Hayate called, drawing the pair down the street's attention.

"Hayate!" Nanoha called in response, hurrying over and then looking down to Ame, who was staring at Vivio... who was staring right back, a smile on her face. The two adults looked between the children, Nanoha with a look of recognition and Hayate with a look of amusement, '_Three... two... one.'_ She thought bemusedly, and on cue Vivio extended her hand to Ame.

"Hi! I'm Vivio." The heterochromic girl said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

Ame looked from Vivio's red and green eyes to Hayate's blue, a questioning look on her face. In response, Hayate pushed the girl forward a step, prompting the girl to take Vivio's hand, "Ame." She said simply.

"So that's here name." Nanoha stated.

"Well, now, at least..." Hayate clarified, "She didn't remember her own, so I named her."

Nanoha nodded, looking to the bag on Ame's back, "She going to St. Hilde's then?"

"Yep." Hayate answered, "Turns out she's a fast learner."

"Well," Nanoha stated, looking to the clock, "We'd better get going, then. Neither of us wants them to be late, ne?'

Hayate nodded and the four of them set off down the street. "Is Hayate you mama?" Vivio asked, to which Ame shrugged.

"Now," the quiet girl responded.

It was small talk such as that Hayate and Nanoha listened in to while they were having their own conversation. Vivio would ask Ame a simple question, and the girl would give the vaguest answer she possibly could. In the end no one learned anything from Ame other than that she was evasive, which Hayate already knew.

When they came to a stop in front of St Hilde's and Ame showed Vivio her schedule, the golden-haired child grabbed her by the wrist and sped off, dragging Ame behind her. Giving Nanoha and amused glance, Hayate followed after them at a more sedate pace to finalize some things with the school.

**Ame**

To Ame's eyes, Nanoha and Vivio were both lit up like light bulbs by tightly bound magic. They were just about as bright as Hayate each, and when all three were together, Ame was sorely tempted to close her eyes and cover them with her hands. They were that bright. Fortunately, Ame's eyes adjusted relatively quickly and the magic became a small glow compared to the actual bodies of the people present, which allowed her to make out the face of the girl in front of her. '_Her eyes are different colors.'_

As the girl, Vivio, continued to ask Ame questions, she began to be faced with more and more questions she couldn't answer. "Where are you from?" Vivio asked, and Ame shrugged.

_'Where am I from?' _Ame thought, _'District III? But that doesn't seem right...'_ Eventually Ame settled on a simple, "I don't know."

"Hm..." Vivio spoke before continuing, "I don't know where I'm from either, but I'm with Nanoha-mama now so it doesn't really matter, ne?"

_'This girl...'_ Ame thought as Vivio began to hold a one-sided conversation with her, _'Why do her smile and her innocent words remind me of something?'_ They came to a stop in front of St. Hilde's, several children walking past them, more than a few turning and looking at Nanoha and Hayate with looks of admiration.

"Let me see your schedule, Ame-chan." Vivio pleaded, drawing Ame's attention back to her. It took Ame a few moments to find the paper in question, but she did and showed it to her companion as requested. When Vivio smiled even more widely, Ame had the slightest sense of foreboding, and immediately afterward she was dragged off by the hand at high speeds.

_'Is it normal for a girl my age to move this quickly?'_ The introverted girl thought, ankles dragging on the ground.

"We're in the same room!" Ame's energetic companion explained once they had entered the building, taken a sharp left turn that almost sent the bluenette into the wall, and walked past several other classrooms. They came to a screeching halt, and Ame's inertia sent her flying into Vivio's side, almost knocking the other girl over, though thankfully her blond companion managed to catch them both. Ame looked up at the classroom after regaining proper footing. "This is it." Vivio said simply, opening the door and walking in.

Looking into the room from the door, Ame noted that half the class turned when Vivio entered the room, and activity seemed to pause a moment before resuming. Vivio herself seemed oblivious to this. The teacher came up from behind Ame, patting her on the shoulder as he passed and then standing at the podium, clapping to get everyone's attention. The teacher, a man that stood at an imposing height made even more noticeable by his black attire, gained their attention easily. Instantly there was silence as several students glanced at the teacher curiously, given that there was still a few minutes before the bell. Vivio, in the center of the classroom's back row, simply smiled broadly, looking at Ame, which prompted several students to follow her gaze and see Ame's outline in the hallway.

"Today," The teacher said, drawing all heads to him, "we have a new student." He gestured to the door to Ame who, after a moment of hesitation, stepped into the classroom and turned to face them. "This is Ame Yagami. She's transferring in from home schooling." The teacher looked like he wanted to say more, but refrained from doing so when he saw how fidgety Ame already was.

Rather than neverousness, though, the feeling Ame was experiencing couldn't quite be described so simply. Something between happiness, regret, and caution. For some reason, Ame couldn't help but feel she was standing on the precarious edge of a knife, swaying from side to side. '_It's like... This is a dream I'm convinced is about to suddenly turn into a nightmare.'_ The teacher's voice shook her from her stupor.

"Yagami-san," He called, "Are you alright?" In response, Ame nodded, turning to him and noting his magic wasn't as bright as Vivio's was. "Anything to say to the class before you sit down?" The teacher asked. Ame deliberated a moment before nodding and responding.

"You're don't shine as bright as the other Angels. It doesn't hurt my eyes." The girl said, and the teacher stared at her a moment, unsure what to make of the unusual comment.

"Um... Right, I'm glad... You're seat's at the back of the third row, one over from the window." He finally got out, pointing to a vacant spot between Vivio and a girl whose face was buried in a book. Ame nodded and sat down, looking from Vivio's glowing face to the girl reading the book. That was when she noticed something.

'_It's the girl from the hospital.'_ Ame noted. The girl in question's hair had been cut short, only a single bang retaining its former length. A glance at the back of the book revealed nothing about it, as the back was blank. Ame turned from the girl, Iri, if she remembered correctly, and noticed that she was being stared at.

She tilted her head, before noticing Vivio was also looking at her, though Vivio's expression was one of curiosity as opposed to confusion, bewilderment, and a host of other emotions. "What?" Ame asked, confused and bewildered herself.

"What do you mean sensei doesn't shine as brightly as other angels? Sensei's not an angel in the first place." Vivio queried in response.

Ame's head tilted again. "But he is. All of you are."

Vivio shook her head as even the girl in the corner turned to stare at her. "I don't think you're using the word 'angel' right." She said, and Ame shrugged.

That was when class began. The teacher started with a demonstration, producing a glowing, red sphere in his extended left hand. Ame soaked the process up, watching as the threads of magic came from the man's core and weaved their way down his arm, and then into the air to form the ball shown. It was loose and tenuously bound, as opposed to the magic of Hayate and the rest of her family. "This is basic manipulation. All of us here are capable of this by now, but I have been informed that our new student is a bit behind in the curriculum. Miss Yagami, are you capable of this, or shall I explain in detail?"

Ame paused, deliberating over what she had seen and what she felt within herself, looking down at her center to the tightly bound ball that was in herself. She imagined the individual threads within her performing the actions that she had seen her teacher's perform and, at her mental command, the threads did. They traveled eagerly out of her core and along her shoulder, dancing and weaving down her arm like some sort of glowing vines weaving along a tree or column. At her hand, they gathered in a cluster and traveled up into the air, glowing a pale steel blue, and wrapping themselves into a tightly bound ball around the size of Ame's head.

"Very good." The teacher complimented, "Now try and mimic me…" And so, as the class watched in silence, the teacher manipulated his sphere, contorting it into various forms, from a sphere to a cube. From a cube to a cone. From a cone to a pyramid, and so on. Every time, Ame mimicked his shape perfectly in all respects save color, which was uncontrollable in the first place. It was a surreal experience, watching the girl who was reportedly behind in her studies accomplish increasingly complex shapes that the lot of them had taken anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to master. The show ended with a pair of glowing solar systems composed of various geometric shapes floating above either participants hand. At an unspoken signal, both disappeared and the teacher had to silence a sudden bout of exclamations. "Well," he said, "Obviously you're not as behind as was reported... I guess this means we can proceed with the class normally."

And so they did, with the students save the girl from the hospital all occasionally glancing at Ame as the teacher showed them how to do some more productive things with their magic, such as speak to one another telepathically or give their magic a solid form. Throughout it all, Ame and the girl from the hospital were the only ones to pay attention consistently, absorbing the information like sponges. Even Vivio couldn't help but ignore the teacher in favor of examining the two to her left on occasion, but that was mostly because she already knew and understood today's subject matter.

When it was time for lunch break, the girl from the hospital became reabsorbed by her book while Ame took the time to experiment with what they were taught, holding her hand out, palm extended, and forming various shapes that were growing increasingly detailed and life like. Eventually, it formed a gear with five spokes turning around a pair of rings turning around a sphere. Ame stared at the rotating objects, contemplating them, when Vivio drew her attention by waving her hand in front of the quiet girl's face.

The structure of the object above Ame's hand burst into particles as the girl's attention shifted to her class-mate. "Aren't you going to eat?" The cheery girl asked.

"I'm not hungry." Ame said in response.

"But it's lunch time." Vivio pointed out. "Do you want that bento to go to waste?"

Ame looked to the packed lunch box in her lap, just noticing that it was there, before looking back to Vivio. "...I guess not." Hayate had prepared the box earlier before they set out, along with breakfast for the entirety of the family. She had eaten with them, though it was a hurried affair, and she'd barely eaten anything.

Ame looked back to the lunch and lifted up to her desk, opening it and organizing the napkins and utensils within methodically before lifting the chopsticks and eating in the same slow, deliberate manner without adding any of the simple seasonings provided with the lunch.

"Why do you eat like that?" Vivio asked, head tilted, "Do you not like the food?"

Ame paused before replying, "I shouldn't eat like this?"

"Well... You're eating right but... If you like the food you should eat it with more enthusiasm. Right now, it doesn't look like you're enjoying it." Vivio responded.

Ame nodded, "Then... how do I eat with enthusiasm?"

Vivio blanched at that. "What do you mean, "How do I eat with enthusiasm," you just do. Look at the others eating their lunches. What do you see them doing differently?"

Ame did as asked, paying attention to the class-mates she had ignored after giving a cursory inspection. Some of them were poking at their food with distaste, some were smiling and chatting with their friends while occasionally taking a bite, and others had already eaten their lunch. Ame also noticed that the girl from the hospital had already finished her lunch, even though Ame hadn't seen the girl put the book down throughout the lunch break.

"They're all eating differently." Ame said bluntly, "Which one am I supposed to mimic?"

"You know, the ones that look like they're enjoying it." Vivio replied.

Ame surveyed the room again, "Which ones are enjoying it?"

In response, Vivio blanched again before picking up her chopsticks. "Just watch." She said exasperatedly with a small smile. The girl dug into her food, eating it quickly but still giving herself enough time to chew and enjoy it. After a while, Ame tried mimicking her but found she couldn't quite enjoy it.

For some reason, even though she appreciated the gesture Hayate had shown by making the food and knew it was good food from the Wolkenritter's reactions... Ame still couldn't feel any joy from the activity. When she finished and put her chopsticks down, she turned to Vivio. "...I still don't feel any different."

In response, Vivio sighed just as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. The students put away their lunch boxes and utensils and moved the desks they had moved back to their original locations as the teacher walked back in. The following four hours they spent in the classroom was history. In particular, the teacher detailed the recent Incident at the end, trying to get those students uninvolved to connect with it. Ame remembered laying in that pile of cold metal, surrounded by fire, and wondered what would have happened to her if Subaru had not found her.

Ame looked to her left and noticed the girl from the hospital wasn't paying the teach any attention, staring out the window instead. The girl's magic, a pulsating violet color, stirred and churned within her body restlessly, as if it were trying to manifest of its own accord. Ame tilted her head, watching it, when the bell rang, signaling the end of class for today. Students flooded out of the classroom in a single, quick rush. Before Ame knew it, all the small beacons of light signaling their presence had made their way down the hall to the exit.

Only Vivio was left, taking her time packing things. The girl from the hospital had somehow vanished in the moment Ame turned away. Ame took the time then to gather her own things, which was a small task as she had barely used anything from her bag at all throughout. Just as the quiet girl stood and headed for the door, Vivio appeared at her side, a wide smile on her face, "Want to walk home together?"

Ame nodded after a few moments. They had walked to school together, so their homes were along the same route... It wasn't like it could be avoided, in any case. "Great!" The girl exclaimed cheerily, as if she had just won the lottery.

**May 25, 0077; 1400 Hours**

**-District IV**

**-Hinode**

Hinode took the opportunity she had while Iri was at school to spend her day off researching. Thus far, she had found very few potential leads and, as much as she wanted to follow through with this herself, was about ready to consent to sitting back and relying on the TSAB's other forces. After all, investigation wasn't her forte.

A small clutter drew her attention to Yumeko, who was nearby reading something and leaning back in her chair... A small, wooden stool. The girl had somehow lost her balance, even though she was leaning against the wall, and the stool had fallen from beneath her, prompting her to fall and the book to lay atop her head.

Hinode shook her head bemusedly, "Really, you're so clumsy." The elder girl walked over and helped the smaller to her feet, brushing her off. Yumeko simply allowed her, staring at her adopted sister with her wide, blue eyes. "And so quiet, too. I haven't heard you speak to anyone but Iri... and even then, you're barely heard."

The girl shrugged, picking up her book. "Yare yare," Hinode sighed, "Try not to lean back so far next time."

Yumeko nodded as Hinode went back to her computer. '_I wonder if this is really alright...'_

At that point they heard the sound of a door opening and shutting downstairs, followed quickly by Iri's voice calling out, "Tadaima."

"Welcome home!" Hinode called, closing her browser and heading out the door and downstairs, absently noting Yumeko was already gone. Turning right and descending down the stairs, Hinode found the two were already heading toward the spare room they usually played in. Seeing the small smile on Iri's face, Hinode shook her head.

"Well," She said to herself, "It seems like it's fine for now."

"I'll be upstairs finishing something up," Hinode called, louder so they could hear, "Let me know when you need something." To the sound of a pair of "Hai,"s, Hinode went back to her desk.

'_I wonder how much longer it'll be fine though...'_


	4. Omens, Apologies, and Reconciliation

**-Disclaimer-**

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji ****Hasegawa. All of the franchise was written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attr****ibuted to Rimshooter:**Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to ****Rimshooter**:, District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn, and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:**** Ugh, so many characters to keep track of. Nanoha has such a huge cast.**

**Taeniaea's Note:**** Did she break something again?**

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Four: Omens, Apologies, and Reconcilation**

* * *

><p><strong>May 26, 0077; 1400 Hours<strong>

**-District IV**

**-Iriai Seitsu**

Iri walked out of St. Hilde's Academy, a book in her hands and open just in front of her. School had just let out, and she had waited for the majority of the class to leave before she did as well, heading off toward her house at a sedate pace. As she read, she kept the book a certain distance away from her face so that she could still see past it with her peripheral vision and thus avoid bumping into something or tripping. As she proceeded down the street and turned right at the next intersection, she shut the book and placed it in her bag, pulling out another instead. Her old diary.

As Iri traveled to her home, avoiding the places she'd discovered were most populous, even if they were a more direct route, she re-read what she knew she had already written. The diary had not been written in nearly two weeks. The last entry, and the one she currently read, was dated May 12, 0077.

_Nine days since that car hit me and broke my arms and leg. The doctors say the casts will come off in ten or so days, and Hino-nee's been tearing the city apart looking for the driver of the car... It's weird, because I didn't see anyone behind the wheel, and that moment is burned into my memory. I don't remember seeing anyone in it at all._

_Ren-nee came and visited my today. Hino-nee couldn't come because she had work to do. She said she was assigned to an expedition into some ruins discovered a week or so ago that her bosses are worried might contain something dangerous. Anyway, Ren-nee came even though she wasn't supposed to because Hino-nee wasn't with her. The nurses and doctors couldn't exactly tell her to go back home by herself so they let her stay and visit until someone came to pick her up._

_It was fun. She showed off how she had been practicing her sketching, because I couldn't. We played cards when a kind nurse came by and offered to hold the cards for me. I beat her both games we played; it was the first time I ever could. I think she let me win; I asked to look at her hand and she wouldn't let me._

_She made a fuss leaving, because she wanted to stay here too. It was the first time she ever really caused a big commotion in a public place. In the end, though, she was carried away._

"_Sorry," She said, crying, "I don't want to leave you alone."_

_I wonder why she said that. I've already been in the hospital for a week or so..._

Iri bumped into someone, as spaced out as she had become, making her drop the diary. Blinking away the small amount of tears that she hadn't managed to hold back, Iri bowed to them before hurrying away.

**Same time.**

**-Same place.**

**-Fate T. Harlaown**

Fate was en route to St. Hilde's to pick Vivio up on foot, and she was running late. She forsook the use of her car because it would attract more attention than she would already, and most citizens of Mid-Childa walked if they could anyway... Unfortunately, this also meant that she was a bit behind schedule, having taken a bit more time finishing some paperwork than she thought she would have. '_Vivio's probably going to be upset.'_

Fate was almost there when she saw a small girl walking toward her, reading a book. Time seemed to stop for a moment, with the exceptions of her and the girl. '_It's her!'_ Fate thought, '_The twin... Iriai.'_

The girl bumped into Fate while the elder was still frozen in place, the contact snapping both out of their stupors. Fate looked down to the girl, who stepped back and bowed, blinking hard, and running away. '_Tears...? She was crying...'_

"Ah!" Fate cried, hurrying over to the fallen book and picking it up, "You dropped you book!" She called out, but Iri was already gone. Fate looked to the book in her hand, turning it from the back to the cover. "Everyday's Sunsets..." She read aloud, "Iri's Diary." Fate placed it in her bag and continued back toward St. Hilde's, resolving to find out where Iri lived and visit to return the diary. As the school came within sight, Fate suddenly realized something.

'_Why was she reading her diary in the middle of the street?'_ She wondered, but her thoughts were turned away by Vivio's enthusiastic greeting.

**1400 Hours**

**-District IV, St. Hilde's Academy for Magic**

**-Vivio Takamachi and Ame Yagami**

When class let out, Vivio waited on Ame to finish putting her things away, again. '_She does things so... roboticly.'_ Vivio noted, watching the blue-haired girl putting her various things away in her normal slow, methodical manner. When Ame finished, she looked up to see Vivio standing at the door to the classroom.

"...Were you waiting?" The introvert asked, head tilted.

"Yep." Vivio said in response, "Fate-mama's going to pick me up today, and she's probably going to be late because of something again, so I don't have any time to lose."

"Ah..." Ame replied. "But if you're going to be here... why wait on me?"

"Well..." Vivio rubbed the back of her head. "...I was wondering if you wanted to stay and chat with me until she gets here. And then we could all walk to the intersection together."

Ame tilted her head again, this time in the other direction, "...She's already here though..."

"What? How do you know?" Vivio questioned.

Ame didn't respond immediately. She was remembering what Hayate had said about her ability. '_If it's a link between two people I shouldn't point it out... If it's just that person though, she didn't say anything about it... But, from what I can tell, most people can't see like I can... but does that mean no one else can? Or is it just a rare ability? If I'm not supposed to mention it, then Hayate might get mad at me... but if I'm allowed to and I still don't mention it, I'll be holding back information, which equates to a lie of omission. If I lie, then Hayate will probably get mad at me.'_ In the end, the fierce internal debate concluded with Ame resolving to fish for more information before making a solid decision.

Meanwhile, Vivio was staring at the girl's expressionless, blank face and noticing how she had completely frozen up at the question. It was like somebody pressed 'pause' or something. Suddenly, Ame blinked, eyes reclaiming that small amount of life that normally ran through them.

"Is it that unusual?" She asked, and Vivio fingered her chin, thinking.

'..._Shamal could probably tell. Nanoha-mama could, too. Hayate... Rein... Most of the people I know could probably tell if Fate-mama was nearby.'_ The girl stopped fingering her chin and went back to looking Ame in the eyes, "No, I don't think so."

"Then... does it matter?" Ame questioned hesitantly, and Vivio nodded.

"I still want to know how." She said in response, and Ame sighed mutely.

"I can see her magic." The bluenette answered.

"Really?" Vivio asked, eyes wide, "...that's amazing! No wonder you could mimic the teacher so easily! Wait..." Vivio tilted her head, "How do you know what Fate-mama's magic looks like?"

"I met her before... just after I was saved during the Incident a few weeks ago..." Ame replied quietly.

"Ah..." Vivio trailed off, "Sorry... Anyway, if she's here then let's go outside and we can walk home together, ne?"

Ame stared at her cheery companion a few moments, before nodding. '_This girl...'_ Ame thought as the two exited the building. "So warm..." Ame muttered quietly.

"Eh?" Vivio asked, "Did you say something?"

Ame refrained from clarifying, walking with her companion toward the large, golden ball of light that marked Fate.

'_Friend: 1. A person who is connected to another by some sort of feeling of attraction. 2. One who supports and assists another. 3. One who is on good terms with another / one who is not hostile... Are we... friends?'_ The girl thought.

"Fate-mama!" Vivio called out, seeing Fate at the end of the street and waving energetically.

Ame watched as Fate's worried, thoughtful expression melted in favor of a warm smile. The girl looked between the pair, wondering if Vivio had noticed and why she didn't comment. The two of them seemed to brighten just from eachother's presence, though Vivio was bright to begin with.

'_Why... do I not produce such warmth?'_

**1400 Hours (Late)**

**-District IV, Seitsu Residence**

**-Iriai Seitsu**

When Iri got home, the door was locked. Pulling out her spare key, she unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal a dim interior lit only by the windows of the house. She stepped inside and closed the door, turning to find a note from Hinode.

_Going to be at the ruins for a few days, travel with a friend, if you can, and don't go out too much. Yumeko is with me... Sorry for leaving you alone._

Iri took the note and crumbled it into a ball, holding it in her clenched fist as her hands dropped to her sides. As it fell to the floor, she wondered at how cold the house seemed. There was no one else. There were no memories. It was alien to her; all that was familiar about it gone with Hinode and Yumeko.

It made her feel so small...

**1400 Hours (Late)**

**-District IV**

**-Fate T. Harlaown**

"Guess what, Fate-mama?" Vivio exclaimed midway through the trio's journey. "Ame-chan can see magic!"

Fate tilted her head in confusion. '_Everyone can see magic when it's in use... unless Vivio means something else. I don't think she'd mention something she didn't find unique, though... And now Ame's staring at me.'_

"What do you mean?" Fate queried, watching Ame out of the corner of her eye, '_Such a sharp, penetrating gaze...'_

"I mean she can see magic!" Vivio answered bluntly, "She saw your magic from the classroom. It's why we left as you arrived."

"Ah..." Fate began, now looking directly at Ame, who was now looking at the buildings on the other side of the street. "Is that so? What does it look like?" '_How did she get an ability like that... unless...'_ Fates conscious train of thought trailed off as she realized several things simultaneously. _'Ame doesn't have any memories before being rescued by Subaru; she doesn't know her real name. Blood tests came up empty, so she's never had a blood sample taken previously and has no family on Mid-Childa. Shamal said she has a large amount of magical power; on par with Nanoha's; and that's not counting the power she has sealed away by whatever that is on her forehead. Judging from what Vivio said over dinner last night, she lacks enthusiasm – can't bring herself to feel it, even, and does everything deliberately and step by step like she's following a handbook. On top of all that, she can see magic when it's not in use; and even from a distance. This girl... the odds of her being a cyborg or an artificial mage are extremely high.'_

Ame continued walking beside them, deliberately avoiding eye contact, unaware of the conjecture Fate had just made about her. Suddenly, she spoke, "It's golden. A swarm of golden threads hovering about you and coming together at a ball in your center. It wreathes you, making you stand out and glow, like the sun. Vivio's is the same, but hers is harder to see; it's blurred and clear, almost like glass."

"Eh, Nani?" Fate asked, suddenly, before she remembered her question, "Ah... Thank you." '_The colors were spot on. I've never head magic described as threads before, though. She definitely sees _something_ that others don't.'_ Fate gave a mental sigh, '_I'm going to have to talk to Hayate about this...'_ She looked from Vivio, who stood clasping her hand, smiling in wonder at Ame's descriptions, to Ame, whose eyes remained averted.

Vivio was the one who broke the silence. "Hey Ame-chan..." She started, and the enigmatic girl turned to her, "we're friends, right?"

Ame froze and stopped walking, prompting Fate to stop as well, just ahead of the two. Ame's eyes were wide with shock.

She took several moments, staring into space, expression unwavering, before, as if someone flipped a switch, it returned to normal. "I... guess we are, if you think we are."

'_This girl...'_ Fate thought sadly as Vivio smiled the widest she had seen in a while, '_...the very idea of having a friend, it's like it's foreign to her.'_

"Great!" Vivio exclaimed, "We're friends!"

As Vivio celebrated with all the enthusiasm of someone who had just won the lottery, Ame stood and observed her, a curious expression adorning the quiet girl's face.

"V-Vivio," The girl said, stumbling over the name, as if she were testing it. When Vivio turned, Ame continued, "Will we always be friends?"

"Of course, silly." Vivio responded, "What-"

"Thank you." Ame spoke, cutting Vivio off. The three of them came to the intersection. "I'll... see you later." Ame spoke, walking down her street at a sedate pace.

"Vivio," Fate asked, prompting the girl in question to turn from staring after her new friend in bewilderment to her godmother, "Do you want to sleep over at your new friend's house today?"

"Can I?" She asked, excited at the prospect, "What about Nanoha-mama? Won't she be worried?"

"I'll let her know," Fate assured, "And don't worry about Hayate either, I'm positive she won't mind."

"Then... Should we catch up to Ame?" Vivio questioned.

"Well..." Fate said, "Hayate won't be back for another hour, and I have some other errands to run, so... you can either go catch up to her by yourself, or I can take you home until later."

Vivio fingered her chin in thought before she responded, "Let's go home first, that way we can surprise Ame-chan!"

"Alright," Fate said, smiling. '_Now that one problem's in the process of being solved... I need to return Iri's diary; I'm sure she'll be missing it.'_

**Later (1500 Hours)**

_Hinode Seitsu,_ Fate read, _born April 3, 0061, Mid-Childa, to Onell Seitsu and Natsu Seitsu. Graduated with top marks in all years of schooling. Completed training a year early (age 15) and became an Investigator. After a year, she transferred into the Armed Forces and is currently assigned to an excavation project on Unadministrated World #42. Current place of residence is..._

When she reached the place of residence, Fate wrote it down and noted it wasn't very far from her house. Standing and pushing back her chair, Fate collected the diary and left, announcing she would be running a brief errand before escorting Vivio to Hayate's.

It wasn't long until Fate came to the address listed, and she marveled at how... empty the house seemed even though it was mid-afternoon. Through the gate, she could see a simple grass-filled yard lacking any plants or decorations, and the plaque on the gate itself was new. Fate rang the buzzer and waited.

After about a minute of waiting, Fate turned to leave when she heard the front door open. Turning back around, Fate saw Iri hiding behind it, peaking through a crack. Fate held up the book, "Lose something?"

The door flew open and the girl was at the gate as fast as Fate could blink. '_That's some speed for a grade-schooler.'_

"Where'd you find it?" The girl asked quietly from the other side of the gate.

"You dropped it when you bumped into me," Fate responded, handing the book to Iri through the gate, "Why are you the one answering the door? Is no one else home?"

When Iri nodded, Fate felt a sinking sensation, "Hino-nee and Yume-chan are going to be gone for a while... I'm alone." The quiet girl's voice grew even quieter at the end of her sentence.

'_She was left alone?'_ Fate thought incredulously, '_She loses her twin sister, and the other inhabitants of her house up and leave? Shouldn't they have contacted a family friend or something? Why just leave her here?'_

"Do you not have a friend or a relative you can stay with?" Fate asked as Iri stood across the gate, violet eyes wide. When she shook her head, Fate felt the urge to facepalm. '_They really have no one to turn to? Couldn't they have at least hired a babysitter or something?'_

"Ano..." Iri started, "I think I recognize you..." She said, making Fate's blood run cold, "...Are you Fate Harlaown, by chance? Hino-nee admires you. She wanted to become an enforcer but... she couldn't afford to leave my sister and I alone too often, and now... she has to anyway." At the girl's admission, Fate felt relieved, and even more upset at the same time. She wanted to apologize to this girl, for not saving her sister in time. For letting her end up alone like this... But Fate knew that mentioning the Incident would just serve to upset the girl, and so remained quiet about it.

"Yes," Fate said, "I'm Fate Testarossa Harlaown... it's a pleasure to meet you."

Iri nodded, "I'm Iriai Seitsu... Can you wait here a moment?" When Fate nodded, Iri vanished into the house, only to appear moments later holding a sketchbook. As the young girl flipped through it to an empty page, Fate noticed the drawings were all highly detailed and realistic, portraying various day-to-day scenes such as a house with a garden out front, and a detailed view of that garden with a girl standing nearby, smiling, '_Her twin,'_ Fate thought. The very last drawing before Iri reached a blank page was a sunset. Iri passed Fate the sketchbook and a pencil, "Could you... sign this please?"

Even though Fate saw it coming, she was still at a loss for words. Resolving to give the girl something to focus on other than her loneliness, Fate nodded, signing the page at the bottom in cursive. "Could you stand there a minute?" She asked again and, Fate, after checking her watch, decided to humor the girl who immediately placed the sketch pad against the fence and began drawing.

When it was pulled away, Fate saw an extremely life-like, if basic, sketch of herself. The girl had a real talent for what she did.

"Um... Sorry." Iri said, "...for keeping you here so long."

Fate shook her head, "I don't mind, really." She didn't. It eased her conscience, somewhat. "I'll be going then... ja ne."

Iri nodded, waving as Fate departed. Upon turning the corner, Fate struck the nearby fence. She hit it hard, but not with enough force to break it, or her hand. Composing herself, Fate sighed.

"Life's so complicated lately..."


	5. The First Stirrings

**-Disclaimer-**

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji ****Hasegawa. All of the franchise was written by Masaki Tsuzuki. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attr****ibuted to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to ****Rimshooter**: District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note: A bit shorter than I would like, but oh well.**

**Taeniaea's Note:**** Rocks fall, everybody dies.**

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Five: The First Stirrings**

* * *

><p><strong>May 26, 077; 1600 Hours<strong>

**-District IV, Yagami Residence**

**-Fate T. Harlaown**

Immediately after ringing the buzzer, Fate heard Hayate's voice call out, "Coming!" Beside her, Vivio's smile grew wider, just as the door opened. Upon stepping out, Hayate was greeted by Fate and Vivio both standing their with their fingers to their lips.

"May we come in?" Fate asked, and, after a brief moment of thought, Hayate caught on and nodded, stepping over to the gate and unlocking it to let them in.

"She's reading in her room at the moment. Vita's not here to rope her into playing a game, and everyone else is content to let her assimilate at her own pace." Hayate informed, just before the two entered the foyer. There, in the hallway, stood Ame with a curious expression on her face.

"Why are Fate and Vivio here?" Ame asked, looking from one to the other.

Fate, Hayate, and Vivio all simultaneously sweat-dropped. '_Should've known it was pointless to try and surprise her...'_

"Well," Fate said, "I have something to talk to Hayate about and I figured Vivio could come along." The look Fate sent Hayate was impossible for the brunette to misinterpret.

'_We need to talk about something important – in private.'_

"Fate-mama, Hayate, can Ame-chan and I spar?" Vivio asked brightly, earning another pair of sweatdrops from Hayate and Fate and a look of curiosity from Ame.

"But Ame doesn't know any strike-arts..." Hayate started, only for Vivio to cut her off.

"Then I'll just teach her some!"

Hayate looked from Fate, who shrugged, to Ame, whose expression was the same. "I suppose," Hayate finally acquiesced, "...if Ame wants to, that is." And so all eyes turned to Ame, whose expression was _still_ the same. Suddenly, the girl blinked and nodded.

"I want to learn." She said. Vivio's smile could blot out the sun.

"Signum," Hayate called, and the red-haired knight appeared from down the hall.

"Yes?"

"Vivio and Ame are going to practice strike-arts out back; could you referee them? Fate and I have something to talk about." The brunette requested, and Signum nodded.

"Of course." She said, and walked with the pair out into the back.

As they vanished, Hayate's easy-going smile melted into a serious expression as she and Fate wordlessly walked up to her bedroom. As soon as the door shut, Hayate turned around, "Alright, talk."

"I don't think Ame's a normal girl..." Fate began.

**Signum**

"Alright, no spells." Signum started, "I shouldn't have to tell you two not to give each other any lasting injuries."

The two of them nodded, though Ame did so uncertainly, having no idea what she was doing. "Just try to dodge for now, okay Ame-chan?" Vivio said, and upon Ame's hesitant nod, Vivio surged forward , pulling her right arm back half way to Ame's position, and releasing it into a swift punch toward Ame's gut. All in the span of a second or so.

To the surprise of all involved, Ame didn't dodge... she caught the punch and flipped Vivio over her shoulder. Vivio landed and smiled, "Good job!" She congratulated, and Ame simply blinked, remaining in a neutral posture.

'_Where did that come from?'_ Signum wondered, '_Ame hasn't done anything but read since the day she was adopted. Is it something from before the Incident?'_

Any further thought was cut off as Vivio charged again, this time more guardedly. When Ame caught the punch again, Vivio pulled Ame's arm to keep from being flipped and tripped Ame by extending her left foot and bringing it back, taking the quiet girl's right foot with it and sending her to the ground as Vivio released the other's hand.

On the ground, Ame blinked, before standing up as Vivio moved back to her original position. "Now you try and attack me, Ame-chan." Vivio instructed, and Ame paused a moment or so before rushing ahead just as fast as Vivio had, surprising both Vivio and Signum again.

'_And how's she that fast?'_ Signum wondered as Ame closed in, performing the same punch Vivio had. Vivio sidestepped to the right, and Ame spun, sending her left fist to Vivio's gut. When Vivio caught the punch, Ame pulled and, as expected, Vivio pulled back. At the moment Vivio did, Ame released her grip, causing Vivio to stumble, and while she was stumbling Ame swept with her right foot toward Vivio's left. Recognizing the maneuver that she had just used on Ame, Vivio jumped back to avoid being tripped.

"Nice!" Vivio exclaimed, "You almost got me! You sure you haven't practiced before?" Ame nodded, and Vivio just shrugged it off, "Well, I guess you're just a fast learner. Try again."

Ame nodded and, without hesitation this time, crossed the gap between them, left hand extended. Instead of dodging or blocking, this time Vivio batted Ame's hand aside with her right hand and struck Ame in the gut with her left before releasing and stepping back. Curiously, even though Ame winced with pain and held the injury, she wasn't gasping for air. Her eyes, sharp and focused, came up to meet Vivio's own.

'_Soemthing's wrong...'_ Signum thought as Vivio took her turn on the offensive. Ame's eyes were darker in color than usual, which didn't make any sense. Instead of sapphire, like usual, they were much darker, almost the same color as onyx.

**Ame and Signum**

When Vivio's fist met her gut, Ame winced with the pain. Why did it hurt so much? Vivio had struck her, sure, but she didn't hit hard enough to do any damage, as far as Ame knew. She trusted Vivio not to hurt her too badly... so why did it hurt so much? Ame felt as if she had been stabbed instead of punched, and that the offending weapon had gone all the way through. It was a sharp pain that seemed to spread from her gut throughout her entire body. As she straightened, Ame noticed her magic was uncoiling itself, flowing throughout her limbs from her core and lessening the pain. Numbing it.

When Vivio announced her next attack, Ame's eyes narrowed. She didn't want to be hit like that again. It hurt too much. The blonde girl charged again, right arm readying for a punch this time. When Vivio committed to the attack, Ame batted it aside as Vivio had done, and then grabbed the arm in question and pulled Vivio into her, right hand coming up and striking Vivio in the gut faster than the girl could counter. Eyes wide with surprise, she doubled over as Ame blinked and stepped back, suddenly realizing what she had just done.

"Are... you okay?" She asked, and Vivio didn't reply for a few moments before she straightened, rubbing the back of her head with a smile.

"Yeah... You got me good that time." She said.

"I think that's enough for now." Signum said. '_It'd be better if that didn't get repeated... For a moment I thought Ame was about to try and kill her.'_

**Hayate**

"So... Ame told Vivio she can see ambient magic and Vivio told you. When you thought about how it was possible, she came the eventual conclusion she's either a cyborg or an artificial mage." Hayate surmised, and Fate nodded.

"You already knew?" The blonde asked, and Hayate nodded.

"She pointed out the link between the Wolkenritter and myself without being told about it... I told her not to mention it to others, but apparently I didn't word it well enough."

"I'll tell Vivio not to spread it around any further... though I don't think she would tell it to anyone we don't plan on revealing it to anyway." Fate assured, before continuing, "but this raises a question... Who's responsible and why? Considering she was found near the epicenter of the Red Sky Incident, surrounded by broken machines..."

"We can assume that whoever's responsible for instigating the Incident is also responsible for her existence as it is." Hayate finished, sighing. "Why can't we ever do something nice _without_ getting tangled up in a major Incident? I'm going to have so much paperwork investigating this..."

Fate smiled gently, "But that doesn't stop you from doing it."

"

"Of course not." Hayate replied, "It never has before, and this time it's involving my family, recently adopted or not... Does Nanoha know yet?"

"I plan on telling her as soon as she gets home."

Hayate sighed again, "Here we go again..."

"Well, on the bright side of things, we know a little bit more about Ame than we did about Vivio... and Ame didn't come with a Relic chained to her."

"Yeah..." Hayate started, "...but this time I don't have a division dedicated to the investigation and the resources that come with them."

That was when there was a knock at the door. "Hayate." Someone called.

"Signum? What is it? Where are Vivio and Ame?" Hayate responded.

"They're in the living room; Vivio roped Ame into playing a game. But that's not why I'm here... Something... disturbing... happened during the spar."

"Define... disturbing..." Hayate asked nervously.

"I thought Ame was trying to kill Vivio at the end of it."

Fate and Hayate's blood ran cold.

**1700 Hours**

**-Unadministrated World #42, Ruin Excavation**

**-Hinode Seitsu**

Hinode felt guilty as she examined the murals adorning the walls around her. In a way, she had deceived Iri... Hinode was currently on leave. There wasn't anyone else on this expedition, because no one else knew about these ruins. '_But this is something I have to do... or else...'_ She looked to Yumeko, who was examining the wall curiously, '_...well... I've already taken the first steps. There's no turning back now, or everything will have been in vain.'_

Hinode looked at the mural in front of her, depicting a five-spoked gear with a pair of rings inside it, and a globe in the center. "What on earth does this mean?"

**-Seitsu Residence**

**-Iriai Seitsu**

In her room, Iri sat on the bed, looking at her diary absently. Outside, it began to rain.


	6. Ghosts of the Past

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attr****ibuted to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children.

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to ****Rimshooter**: District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note: Apologies for the delay – our internet died. Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for it...**

**Taeniaea's Note:**

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Six: Ghosts of the Past**

* * *

><p><strong>May 26, 077; 1700 Hours<strong>

**-District IV, Yagami Residence**

**-Hayate**

"She was... trying to kill Vivio?" Hayate questioned.

"Not consciously, no." Signum clarified, "...but I think that when Vivio landed a solid blow on her, some sort of internal self-defense mechanism in Ame reacted."

"Internal self-defense mechanism?" Hayate asked again.

"Either some sort of state resulting from a past trauma or... considering her abilities... some sort of ingrained program or directive. Like a natural instinct."

"Well," Hayate said, sighing, "I think there isn't any doubt to your theory now, Fate."

Fate, standing next to Hayate, looked more unnerved than anything, which didn't surprise Hayate in the least. "She's fine now, though?" The blonde questioned, and Signum nodded.

"She recovered herself before doing any lasting injury. All she did was return the same blow to Vivio, which only winded her."

'Only_ winded her,'_ Hayate thought, '_Vivio's a sturdy girl.'_

Hayate sighed, "I can already feel the headaches coming."

When Hayate, Signum, and Fate returned downstairs, it was to the sight of Zafira watching Ame and Vivio fight each other to a stand-still on a fighter game. They were using the same character, and Ame had somehow copied Vivio's fighting style to the point that the match had degenerated into a never-ending chain of counter-attacks. Not only that, they were the _same_ counter-attacks being launched simultaneously and canceling each other out. Repeatedly. Under the spectator's gazes, the timer ran out just as both of them were pulling off a special attack.

"Geeze Ame-chan," Vivio complained lightheartedly, "how is either of us supposed to win if you just mimic my every move?"

Ame shrugged. "You told me to follow your example."

"I didn't mean for you to copy me exactly though!"

'_It looks like they're fine.'_ Hayate mused, '_Then again... the person she hit's Vivio.'_

If Fate's small smile was any indication, it appeared she was relieved as well, though her eyes still betrayed her inner worries. "Vivio-chan," Fate said, prompting Vivio to turn from Ame to her adopted god-mother, "I'm going home now. Sure you want to stay?" It was a rhetorical question to everyone's ears... except for maybe Ame's. No one could ever really tell exactly what that girl was thinking.

"I'm fine Fate-mama." Vivio assured, giving Fate a parting hug. Ame, Hayate noted, was watching the two with a curious look in her eyes.

Vivio followed Fate to the front door and waved as she left. Ame went too, stopping at the entrance to the kitchen and watching Fate leave with her constant, unwavering expression still in place. From behind her, Hayate watched the girl curiously. '_Just what goes on behind that mask of hers?'_

**Later (2300 Hours)**

Vivio and Ame had played various games for the rest of the day until it was announced they had to go to bed. When Vita got home, she joined in as well, and was disappointed to find Ame fighting exactly the same way Vivio did... and beating her. Vivio slept on a futon Hayate had pulled out in Ame's room, and had spent most the night until she went to bed trying to get Ame to open up more and, when that failed, reading Ame's 'poems.' Checking in on them, Hayate found that Vivio had finally gone to bed, and Ame was either asleep as well or feigning sleep. From this angle, she couldn't tell because Ame wasn't facing the door.

Heading upstairs to her room, Hayate sat at her desk and began pulling up files on her computer when she heard her door click open. Minimizing her files, Hayate turned to see Ame standing in the doorway.

"Hayate." Ame called, and Hayate gestured for Ame to continue, "Why can't I feel joy?"

Of all the things Hayate expected the adopted Yagami to ask, that was unexpected. "What do you mean?"

"You, Signum, Vita, Shamal, and Zafira are my family right? Why don't I feel happy around you, like Vivio does around Fate and Nanoha?"

Hayate rubbed her forehead, a headache forming. "Well... either you don't like us-"

"Incorrect." Ame interrupted her immediately, the same impassive face in place, "I'm really grateful for you and the others. You've been trying to make me feel welcome from the start... I just... can't."

'_This girl...'_ Hayate thought, '_...just what has she been put through?'_

"Maybe you're just not used to us?" Hayate suggested, somewhat lamely by her own opinion.

"But I've been around you the most out of anyone except Subaru." Ame countered.

"Well..." '_I really have no idea... How do you explain to a child that she might be somebody's escaped experiment?'_ Hayate thought dejectedly, "Maybe you just feel joy differently?"

Ame didn't respond to that for a while – probably going over the suggestion. "How would I know?" Ame asked.

'_She's not making this easy at all...'_ "Ah... I can't really explain that."

"Hayate," Ame spoke, "...I don't think I've felt joy yet. Relief? Maybe... Gratitude? Definitely... but other than that, I don't remember ever feeling any different. Why is that?" The seal on Ame's forehead became visible, and Hayate looked at it nervously. A circle between a pair of arrows with the roman numeral, 'VIII' inside it. "What's wrong with me?" When Ame's magic began to coalesce visibly around her, Hayate knew she needed to calm the girl down.

"There isn't anything wrong with you," Hayate assured, and she meant it. After all, she had accepted the Wolkenritter as ordinary people even though they were technically magical constructs, proven that the Tome of the Night Sky wasn't inherently evil, and was best friends with an ex-criminal who probably had several things in common with Ame. If she couldn't accept a girl who was, other than one or two quirks, perfectly ordinary...

Unfortunately, Hayate's sincerity didn't seem to reach Ame, whose aura at this point was not only visible, but beginning to dominate the room. In the hallway beyond, Hayate could just make out the Wolkenritter behind the magic, awakened by Ame's apparent fit. And it was a fit... books were being levitated out of place and spiraling around and Ame herself seemed to be somewhere else entirely, given she was ignoring everything else completely. With an anti-climatic 'pop' the books went flying to every corner of the room and Ame's magic vanished. The seal on her forehead now read 'VII.'

When she collapsed, Hayate moved forward and caught her.

"Hayate," Signum asked, stepping forward, the rest of the Knights behind her.

"What just happened?" Vita asked, bewildered.

Hayate looked from the unconscious girl in her arms, to her Knights, and found herself at a loss for words. "I really have no idea... Shamal? If you would..."

Shamal wordlessly moved to Hayate's side and began checking over Ame. After a few moments she spoke, "She's fine, as far as I can tell. Her linker core is larger now, but other than that I don't see any differences."

Hayate nodded and gave an experimental lift... to her surprise Ame was practically weightless. '_That rules out cyborg...'_ Standing with Ame draped over her arms, Hayate turned to the Wolkenritter, "Would one of you mind keeping watch over her? Just in case something went on that we can't observe immediately..."

Everyone there nodded their assent. Shamal ended up being the one to monitor her, while the others put themselves on standby. Hayate, meanwhile, went back to her files and sent Yuuno a request to search for a seal similar to the one on Ame's forehead, including as best a description of it as she could. If the head librarian of the Infinity Library couldn't find anything on it... well, they'd have to learn from experience.

Hayate _really_ didn't want to have to learn about it from experience. That usually led to needless escalation, such as when the Tome of the Night Sky became known as the Book of Darkness and went on a rampage...

When she finally drifted off to sleep, still seated at her desk, Hayate slept fitfully.

**May 27, 0600 Hours**

**-District IV, Yagami Residence**

**-Objective**

When Vivio woke up, it was to see Shamal seated at Ame's desk, watching Ame's sleeping form with a critical gaze. "Shamal?" Vivio questioned, sitting up.

The Knight of the Lake turned, surprised, at Vivio's voice, so focused had she been. "Ah, Vivio. Good morning."

"Is Ame alright? Why're you in here?"

"Ah... I was deciding on how to wake her up. It's about time to get ready for school, and Hayate had a long night..." Shamal answered.

"Well... why not just shake her awake?" Vivio suggested.

"Hayate tried that before... Ame ignored her." Shamal answered.

Vivio fingered her chin for a moment, before smiling widely and shouting, "Ame-chan, get up!"

In response, the blue-haired girl rolled over and opened her eyes, staring at Vivio. "Why?"

"You'll miss school if you don't." Vivio explained, and Ame blinked.

"Oh." She said as she stood.

"Well... I'll leave you two to your own devices then." Shamal spoke, prompting Ame to turn and notice her.

"Why were you here?" Ame asked.

"I was going to wake you, but Vivio beat me to it." The healer responded, "If you'll excuse me.." And she left, leaving the two girls to prepare for the day.

Vivio shifted within her covers for a bit as Ame changed clothes, and when Vivio stood she was already fully dressed in a change of clothes. The two exited to find the Wolkenritter had assembled at the table, each eating a small plate. Three plates had been laid out, presumably for Vivio, Ame, and Hayate.

"Morning." They chorused, before all of them but Zafira stood and left.

"I've been assigned to escort you two to school," He explained as the two ate.

**Seitsu Residence**

**Iriai Seitsu**

'_Travel with a friend... I don't have any friends... So should I just try to stick to crowded areas?'_

It was to these thoughts, Iri left her house behind and set off for the school, deviating from her usual route in favor of a more direct one. '_What's she worried about, though? Ren and I... we went to school by ourselves so many times, and we didn't run into any trouble... It must be because it's a new district...'_

The walk to St. Hilde was much faster by this route, so long as Iri ignored all the unfamiliar faces around her, and so she arrived in time at the gates to hear a pair of her classmates chatting with each other as they approached the room.

"You know... something seems a bit off about you today. Are you feeling okay?" One of them asked the other as they turned the corner.

Just after Iri entered the building, it began to rain outside.

**-Unknown Location**

**Unknown Perspective**

"Found you... Iri-chan." A short, black-robed figure said, hood concealing its face. "Aw, you cut your hair. It was so pretty too..."

**-District IV, St. Hilde Academy of Magic, Outdoor Field Area**

**Iriai Seitsu**

"Today, during our field exercise, we will be learning an essential spell for self defense. It's a very basic spell, and very easy to cast." The teacher spoke, holding his hand out. From his hand, an aura of red magic spread until a vague circle of magic, diameter reaching from his extended hand to his head, had been formed, "Protect. It won't withstand the most powerful of attacks, but it could very well save your life. I figured it'd be an excellent place to start... now, I'm aware several of you have had some sort of extra-curricular instruction or similar and already know this, and several other, spells. Raise your hand if this is the case."

Other than herself, Iri noted the two girls who sat to her immediate right had raised their hands, the blonde girl with an enthusiastic smile, and the blue-haired one much more reluctantly, and only at the blonde girl's insistence.

"Alright, so Ame, Iriai, and Vivio. You three help the others if they're having trouble." The teacher noted, and, having given a demonstration once already, gave the signal for the students to begin attempting the spell. There was more learned in trial and error than in following a given set of steps, after all. Sometimes students came up with some pretty interesting methods if left to their own devices...

"Vivio," Iri heard Ame quietly saying as the two looked for someone having trouble, "Can I really help them? The way I learn is..."

"Don't worry about it, Ame-chan!" Vivio assured her companion brightly. "I'm sure you'll be able to help better than anyone else. After all-" At that point, Vivio noticed Iri's quiet observation and cheerfully beckoned her over, "Hey Iri-chan!" The energetic girl called. Reluctantly, Iri came over. "We're all going to be helping people out, right? We might as well be friends if we're going to do it... I'm pretty sure we're going to be called on often anyway."

In response, Iri looked to Ame, whose impassive face suggested nothing, and then back at Vivio's eager smile. There wasn't any real point in refusing; it's not like any friends she made would last anyway, so Iri nodded her assent. "Alright...:

Vivio nodded in return, though Iri couldn't fathom why. Glancing at Ame again, she found the girl was staring at her... and now looking at her arms and legs. "Your limbs are healed." She stated. Vivio looked between the two bemusedly. Her face screamed, 'I know something.'

"How'd you know?" Iri asked, slightly uncomfortable.

"We shared a room... for a bit. Shamal had to drug you to keep you in your bed... and then you fought off the drugs and tried to get out again until you exhausted yourself. Your elder sister showed up after that and gave you those pendants, and then Shamal had time to finish my examination. After determining I was okay, Subaru-neesama took me to the orphanage..."

Before Iri could formulate a response, Vivio spoke, "Wow Ame-chan, that's the most I've ever heard you say! And you know Subaru?"

"She saved me." The other girl responded simply, before turning to Iri, "Iriai wants to say something." At that,Vivio's attention shifted back to Iri, who paused at the girl's beaming smile, before continuing.

"We shared a room? But I never saw you... The other bed went unused."

"I didn't stay long... Hayate and the others wanted to have Shamal make sure I wasn't injured before taking me to the orphanage."

That was when somebody screamed, and the three girls turned to see a large, wraith-like being holding a pair of sickles hovering over the field. The teacher attacked it with some sort of spell, sending six or so red spheres flying into it, but they impacted a pale gray barrier and bounced back. As the teacher defended himself with his own barrier, and the other students scattered, the apparition sent a volley of black bolts of energy flying toward Iriai. Shocked, Iri barely cast Protection before the bolts struck. After three of them, her barrier broke, and for a second Iri thought the bolts were going to hit her... when suddenly they were absorbed by a shimmering, crystal-like barrier. "Are you okay?" Vivio asked, one hand supporting the semi-spherical barrier in front of Iri. As more bolts of magical energy pelted their new obstacle, it was all Iri could do to nod.

Six bolts of blue energy flew past the barrier, though Iri and Vivio couldn't see what the result of the attack was through the dark gray magic washing over Vivio's barrier.

**Ame Yagami**

"Ame-chan!" Vivio exblclaimed happily, "...you already learned Sphere Shoot?"

Behind the two, Ame simply nodded, her previous attacks coming back at her. "Reflection." She toned, and the attacks hit a blue version of the barrier the apparition had just used, bouncing back toward their original target. They destabilized halfway there, losing form and dissipating. '_It can only redirect so many threads – the rest get absorbed.'_ The girl noted, '..._how much can it absorb?'_ Ame's thoughts were interrupted, however, when the apparition rushed forward, left sickle impacting against Vivio's barrier. '_I wonder...'_ Ame thought as the tip of it began to pierce through, "Reflection." She called, and the barrier formed itself just behind Vivio's, smaller in size. When the sickle broke through, it hit Ame's barrier and bounced back.

'_Chance,'_ Ame and Vivio thought in tandem. The pair charged through Vivio's dissipating barrier as the apparition brought its sickle back.

'_Let's see... it looked something like this...'_ Ame thought as her magic gathered around her fist and began to spiral, '_...but I don't have the same enhancements, so will it work?'_ Ame's fist began to glow blue and she brought it up, slamming it into the enemy's Reflection Shield. '_It has to.'_ Her fist bounced off, no longer glowing, and the magical obstruction flickered. '_It's weakened.'_

"Sphere Shoot." Vivio cried, six spheres of clear energy forming and surging forward. They hit the Reflection Shield just after Ame punched it, and broke through, riddling the apparition with a trio of holes.

'_Again.'_ Ame thought as she rushed forward, fist glowing again. The apparition swung at her, but stumbled when a trio of red bolts impacted it from behind, and Ame's fist met its gut, tearing through it and laving a gaping hole. '_There's nothing inside... Its magic is gathering around the wound, and the wound is regenerating. So... it's made of magic?'_ Ame's pausing to think almost cost her as the apparition attacked again, but Vivio knocked Ame out of the way as another trio of red bolts impacted against their adversary.

"Safe!" Vivio cheered as she noted the pair had successfully avoided its attack.

Ame, on the other hand, was more concerned with the follow-up, another barrage of its bolts. "Protection." She called, and the bolts were absorbed by the shimmering field her outstretched hand produced. "Vivio, it's made of magic. There was nothing but magic inside it, and the wound we inflicted is already repairing itself." At that point, Ame noted that the threads she was directing into the shield were growing few and dimmer as she began to feel fatigued. '_I'm running out of magic...'_

The apparition was advancing on Iri again, ignoring the teacher's constant stream of fire as random portions of its body disappeared and then reappeared moments later, sustaining its own barrage on Ame's barrier even as it went. '_My eyes burn...'_ The girl thought, watching all the various threads of magic around the field dance about to the user's whim. It was almost beautiful.

As the apparition got closer, ignoring Vivio's bolts of energy as she joined the barrage, rushing forward, Ame realized Vivio wasn't going to make it in time. Apparently Iri realized the same thing, and she gathered magic in front of herself desperately. '_That's not a Protection spell...'_ Ame noted. The apparition surged forward without warning, sickle raised.

"Shell Burst!" Iri cried, and the magic in front of her surged forward all at once in an overwhelming wave that washed over her assailant. From afar, Ame idly watched as the various threads of magic within the apparition were blown away.

'_Like dust in the wind...'_ She thought as her vision blurred and she fell to the ground, unconscious and heedless to Vivio's worried cries. The last thing Ame felt before touch faded as well was a burning sensation on her forehead.

**Iriai Seitsu**

'_I... killed it?'_ Iri thought, shocked. Moments ago, the apparition had been about to, quite likely, end her life. Now, it was just... gone. '_The shell burst worked? This is the first time since Ren came up with it that it has...'_

"Ame-chan!" Vivio cried, drawing Iri's attention. When she turned, she saw Ame laying prone on the ground... and then she began to feel extremely tired.

'_I must have overdone it...'_ She fought as she fell to her knees, '_...still can't quite... match Ren.'_ With those final thoughts, she was out as well.


	7. Ame Yagami's Seal

**-Disclaimer-**

****Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.****

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Unknown Man, Unknown Girl, Unknown Children, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu.

**Locations Attributed to ****Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Room.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn.

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note: Taeniaea was admitted into the hospital...**

**Taeniaea's Note:**

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Seven: Hauntings**

* * *

><p><strong>Just Before the Attack<strong>

**-District IV, Takamachi Residence**

**-Nanoha Takamachi**

On May Twenty-Sixth, the White Devil had a day off. Explanation? The batch of cadets she had been working on were given the day as a temporary break to either relax or, if they wished to risk Nanoha's ire, continue training.

The end result was a relatively restless, but still content, Nanoha Takamachi sitting in her room browsing the online catalog for things she couldn't get elsewhere, the foremost of which being a blank device to give to Vivio next year, after her friends in Research and Development were done tinkering with it. The church would fund them, something which Nanoha was both appreciative of, as devices weren't cheap, and slightly annoyed by, as it meant the Saint Church was working its way closer to Vivio.

While the Takamachi Family certainly appreciated their support... Nanoha and Fate wanted Vivio to be able to live the life she wanted... and so did Vivio, if her constant reinforcement that she was a (mostly) ordinary girl and to be treated as such was any indication... not that the Saint Knights ever listened.

Well, Nanoha knew several people in the Church, and found friends in them, so she didn't really dislike it. It was just a minor irritation and a reminder, for everyone involved in the JS Incident, of Vivio's origins.

But Nanoha preferred not to think of such things, and so she didn't, preferring instead to focus on picking out a device slate for Vivio. When she saw a red bauble, she held Raising Heart to it, "What do you think?" She asked.

The pink bauble in her hand, a perfect match for the other save its color, flashed in response, "It is a capable device, Master." Its computerized, feminine voice intoned.

"That's what I thought too." Nanoha said with a smile, selecting it from the catalog and ordering one to be sent to R&D. Immediately afterward, a jingling sound interrupted comfortable silence of Nanoha's home. Hand reaching for her phone and bringing it to her ear, Nanoha's pleasant smile immediately evaporated.

**A Few Minutes Later**

**-St. Hilde Academy of Magic**

A deceptively calm Nanoha stalked through the doors of the St. Hilde clinic, and the nurse inside turned at her intrusion, alongside Vivio's teacher, both of whom immediately began sweating bullets. Vivio, who was at the farthest bed, watching over an inert Ame, turned as well and, in stark contrast to the adults' apparent dread, smiled broadly and leaped the distance between the new arrival and herself. "Nanoha-mama!" She cried, and Nanoha caught her, a brief smile appearing on her face, before her expression became stern once more. Setting Vivio down, Nanoha turned to the girl's teacher as Vivio stepped back, knowing better than to say anything.

"What, exactly, happened?" She asked, tone deadly serious. At that moment, Vivio's teacher wished he had another job.

One recap later, and Nanoha's agitation had only slightly been alleviated by the lack of injuries to those involved. She walked to the back two beds, the teacher stepping out of her way nervously and the nurse following with just about as much composure. In the beds were Ame Yagami and Iriai Seitsu, both passed out from magical exhaustion. '_They're sharing a room again. Looks like this time they're content to sleep...'_ Nanoha thought, slightly bemused. Vivio appeared at her side just as Ame woke up. The blue-haired girl stirred, head rolling to the side to meeter Vivio's face. At eye contact, Vivio's concerned face brightened into a smile.

To Vivio's slight shock, Ame returned the smile slightly. "I'm alive." She noted, her tone an odd mix of relief, bewilderment, and surprise. On her forehead, the numeral 'VI' pulsed, drawing Nanoha's attention. '_Isn't that the seal Hayate told me about? It used to say VII... so the seal got weaker?'_

"Ame-chan." Nanoha spoke, drawing the girl's gaze to her.

"Nanoha Takamachi." The girl spoke in response, "...alias 'the White Devil.' An advanced class instructor. Infamous for her tendency to use excess force when completing an objective, and for how strict she is training her cadets... So bright." At her words, Nanoha noticed Ame's eyes were slitted and the girl was showing no signs of opening them any further.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Nanoha asked. '_She still has that habit of not addressing who she's talking to? I thought Hayate said she stopped doing that...'_

"They hurt. It hurts less if I keep them narrow like this but... you're so bright. Can I look away?" Ame explained and, when Nanoha nodded her assent, the girl looked at the wall opposite Nanoha.

'_This isn't something I can help her with... And the nurse hasn't caught on to it so... Shamal? But Shamal won't be available until this evening unless I take Ame-chan to her.'_ Nanoha thought, staring at the blue hair on the back of Ame's head, carefully laid out so that the girl wouldn't be laying on it. Blinking, Nanoha noticed something, "You're hair... is it brighter?"

Vivio noticed too, upon Nanoha's inquiry. "Wow, Ame-chan! How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" The girl asked lethargically as she pulled a strand before her eyes, "Hasn't it always been this color?"

'_No...'_ Nanoha thought, looking at the girl's light blue, almost platinum, hair, '_...I don't see her often, but it's definitely lighter.'_

"No." Vivio chirped, "-it was definitely darker before."

"Are you sure?" Ame questioned

'_Shamal definitely needs to look at her.'_ Nanoha concluded, glancing to Iri's bedside. "Vivio-chan, can you stay here and watch Iri-chan while I take Ame-chan to see Shamal?"

When Vivio nodded her assent after a brief internal debate, Nanoha turned to the nurse, giving them a look that clearly asked, 'Are you going to argue with me?' In response, the nurse stepped back and walked to her desk, starting to fill out paperwork.

Nodding to herself, Nanoha turned to Ame, "Come on Ame-chan." The girl's head rotated until her slitted eyes were facing just above Nanoha.

"We're going to the Military Hospital?" The girl questioned, and Nanoha nodded. Ame closed her eyes entirely and stood up, reaching for Nanoha's hand. Wordlessly, the ace of aces took it, leading Ame out and to the front desk where she checked the girl out. Stepping outside, Nanoha led Ame to her car, a solid white affair with five seats, Nanoha assisted the girl in buckling in since she couldn't open her eyes for fear of injuring them further. Once Ame was situated, Nanoha entered the driver's seat and immediately set out, meeting the speed limit at its exact.

With Nanoha's haste, the two arrived at the military hospital in a few minutes. Parking, Nanoha picked Ame up bridal style and entered the hospital as her car auto-locked itself with a brief chime. Upon entering the lobby, the receptionists on duty immediately looked up and stiffened. Nanoha walked straight to the one in the center, "Where's Shamal?"

"Ah... Yagami-sensei is currently on an off-shift-" Nanoha left the desk and walked to the elevator before they finished and, as she vanished behind the sliding doors, sat back in their chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

On the eighteenth floor, Nanoha stepped out of the elevator and walked briskly to Shamal's office, knowing the Knight of the Lake wouldn't spend her break on recreation – especially in the aftermath of an incident like the previous. Stepping in unannounced, the blonde Wolkenritter looked up and immediately noticed Ame laying prone in Nanoha's arms, eyes closed.

Approximately thirty seconds later the girl was laying on a bed in an otherwise empty room. As Shamal looked the girl over, Nanoha retold the story of what had happened, including Ame's stated symptoms.

"Her seal's definitely weakened more..." Shamal stated, "...and her eyes are definitely damaged; in a manner akin to if one were to look at the sun for too long, but they're regenerating quickly..."

"Don't ..." Ame muttered, and it occurred to Nanoha that Ame must have fallen unconscious somehow. "...don't hate me... please..."

Shamal and Nanoha exchanged a glance, just before the doctor moved forward and began checking over Ame's inert form. "The seal's weakening even further." Shamal said, brows furrowing in concentration. Nanoha, aware that Shamal was doing something tricky, remained quiet and watched. A series of Belkan triangles and similar symbols appeared as the doctor held her hand above Ame's head, before they floated forward and made contract with it. At their touch, Ame's form lit up, and Nanoha stepped back in shock. The girl was absolutely _covered_ in magical script and formulas. Rich, blue text crawled along the girl's frame like so many snakes. At joints and vital areas, there were complex diagrams of circles and triangles, queer mixes of Midchildan and Belkan systems. Brows furrowing even further, Shamal pressed her hand forward, and the diagrams she had made expanded, turning into similar lines of text which then wrapped around Ame, meshing with the others.

_'They're not like snakes...'_ Nanoha thought suddenly, '_...they're more like chains restraining a large animal, and being pressed by its resistance.'_

The lines of script and diagrams faded as Shamal removed her hand, stepping back with a relieved sigh. "So..." Nanoha asked, trailing off.

Shamal massaged her forehead before speaking, "She's fine. I reinforced the seal to make it last longer, but we're going to have to watch her carefully to keep it in tact."

"And if we can't?" Nanoha asked.

"Her Linker Core." Shamal replied, "...has swelled to be twice the size of yours."

"That much?" Nanoha questioned, surprised.

"I _did_ say I couldn't see most of it because of the seal... and most of it is still locked up... if I were to take a guess I'd say that each progressive level of the seal contains more than the last... probably an exponential amount more, as well." The blonde explained, "...if all of this magic were to be released at once... we're looking at a possible dimensional tear... and Ame-chan would never survive it."

Nanoha knuckled her forehead, "Whoever designed this seal really did a crappy job."

"Actually," Shamal countered, "...it's quite ingenious in design. They either lacked the capability to make it stable... or..." She trailed off.

"...or they made it deliberately unstable. Geeze, Ame-chan's a ticking time bomb." Nanoha finished.

"It would appear so... the most I can do at the moment is limit the amount she can release at once. It should be enough unless someone overrides them and releases all of that penned up energy."

"I feel a headache coming." Nanoha said, exasperated. At that moment, the girl on the bed stirred, eyes opening.

Ame looked from Shamal to Nanoha, eyes a bit more focused than usual, but retaining their signature dullness. "Shamal... Nanoha... This isn't the school clinic..."

"You strained your eyes during the fight, so Nanoha brought you here for treatment." Shamal explained.

"I had the most unusual of dreams." Ame spoke, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh?" Shamal questioned, "What's that?"

Ame held out her hand, and a sphere appeared, followed by a pair of rings rotating around it in a cross, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. Third, and finally, a five spoked gear appeared, rotating slowly clockwise. "I was in an enormous, black cavern... and this was floating above me."

'_That's some impressive control...'_ Nanoha mused, '_...kind of scary, all things considered.'_

"And then I looked down, and I was standing on a giant mirror... or was it a window? On the other side, my reflection was placing its hand on the surface of the glass, but reaching up. What's strangest is my reflection's hair was silver, and the eyes were lighter, almost platinum in color..." Ame narrated.

"And then... I felt such pain, and looked down... and there was a blade protruding from my stomach... and my reflection vanished into a bunch of little balls of light... and when the blade was pulled out, I fell over... and through the mirror... and then down... down... into the abyss. All the while, I could hear my own voice echoing around me, saying, 'Don't hate me' again, and again. Just before I woke up... I could swear there were three of me, all falling alongside one another. The others linking hands around me, as if to shelter me."

"Well," Nanoha said, "...that certainly qualifies as unusual."

Ame nodded as the projection she made vanished. "I'm tired." She said quietly, before her eyes slid shut again.

"You think it's safe to take her home?" Nanoha asked.

"Well... she's not checked in." Shamal pointed out.

**St. Hilde Academy of Magic, Clinic**

**-Vivio Takamachi and Iriai Seitsu**

Vivio sat on the bed Ame previously occupied, watching the clock tick by anxiously. When it struck twelve, Iri woke up. At the sound of the other girl sitting up, Vivio glanced over and saw she was awake. "Iri-chan!" Vivio exclaimed, rushing over, "...are you alright?"

"_Iri, are you alright?"_ Iri blinked, forcefully dispelling the memory that had jumped to the fore of her mind. "I'm fine." Iri replied, "...just tired. What about Ame-san?"

"Nanoha-mama came and took her to see Shamal," Vivio said, a faint trace of worry escaping in her voice, "...Ame-chan said her eyes hurt, and her hair had changed color... She couldn't even open her eyes all the way."

"I see..." Iri said, even though she really didn't. What did Ame's eyes hurting have to do with her hair changing color... better yet, why did her hair change color in the first place?

"Hey, Iri-chan," Vivio said, looking at the bed-ridden girl with concerned eyes, "Are you really alright?"

"_Are you really?"_ Iri forced the memory away again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said, standing up to prove her point. "Where's the nurse?"

"It's lunch break, she went to go get something to eat." Vivio explained.

"What about you?"

"I ate my bento here," Vivio answered, pointing to her bento laying nearby, and Iri wanted to palm her face for missing it, considering how much it stood out. At that point, Iri's stomach chose to growl. "Where's your bento?" Vivio asked, and Iri averted her eyes, "Don't tell me you don't have one..." When Iri still didn't meet Vivio's gaze, the other girl almost blew up. "Why don't you have a bento? Did no one pack one for you?" Iri nodded sheepishly in response.

"Hino-nee is away on a mission, and there isn't anyone else at home, so..."

"Why didn't you try and pack one yourself? Geeze, if I had known I wouldn't have eaten all of mine... What to do..." Vivio went on after that, thinking aloud.

'_This girl... why's she so... open? We only really started talking today, and she acts like we're best friends._.._'_

"It's fine, really..." Iri spoke, trying to convince Vivio.

"But you can't go without a bento!" Vivio countered vehemently, before she blinked. "Wait... there isn't anyone else at home... you're living by yourself?"

Iri nodded. "Well... normally..." Iri didn't finish her sentence, letting it trail off. At about that moment, Vivio exploded.

"You can't live by yourself!' She cried, "What if something happens? Who's going to come looking for you if you get lost, or hurt, or..."

Iri cut her off, "It's fine... really." The tone of her voice wasn't convincing though, as heavy as it was. At any rate, it certainly didn't convince Vivio.

"No, it's not!"

Once more, a memory came to Iri's mind, overlaying with Vivio's voice, '_No, you're not! Come on...'_

"You can live at my house until your sister gets home!" Vivio finished, unaware of the various reminders she was sending her companion.

Iri, on her end, was doing her best to ignore said reminders. "But Hino-nee would get worried..."

"So leave her a note! Where do you live?" Vivio cut her off.

Iri discovered that day that resisting a concerned member of the Takamachi family was an exercise in futility as Vivio wormed her address out of her.

"That's not that far away from my house!" Vivio exclaimed happily upon learning Iri's address.

After lunch break, Vivio had to go back to class, leaving Iri alone in the clinic with the nurse who, after a few failed attempts at starting small talk, left her alone for the most part.

The instant school let out, Vivio had already arrived in the clinic to escort Iri home and then, afterward, to Vivio's own place of residence. '_There's no dodging this, is there?'_

Vivio knew the District far better than Iri could have imagined, it would seem, as the blonde girl led her companion directly to her own house in record time, taking several shortcuts along the way. When they came to the iron gate marking the entry to the empty yard of Iri's house, Vivio surveyed the area with curious, but critical, eyes, before reaching an abrupt decision.

"You house isn't very homely." Vivio said, bluntly, and Iri shrugged in response as she opened the gate to her house.

"...Because it isn't my home." She responded, leading Vivio through the yard and into the dim interior. After a hollow, 'I'm back.' that echoed into the house, Iri began writing her note and, after finishing it, placed it on the door where Hinode had placed her own note. After that, Iri went upstairs to gather what little she had in her room before returning downstairs holding a small bag and a book. "...I'm ready." She said, and Vivio nodded brightly, leading the girl away from the empty house (which Iri had taken the time to lock on the way out, not that there was anything to steal).

**Takamachi Residence**

**-Nanoha Takamachi**

Nanoha was at home that hour, cooking, having received notice from Shamal that she was on medical leave until further notice... The doctor, and her superiors, were worried about Nanoha's health after the Ace had used up so much energy during the JS Incident. Several minor symptoms later and Shamal had sufficient excuse to keep her from working for the next several years... something that both of them knew would probably be impossible, but it freed up Nanoha's schedule and allowed her to do more work, perhaps, than she would have otherwise. Work for another goal, other than training the troops.

Nanoha knew Shamal was planning on waiting longer before insisting she go on leave, but Nanoha knew her well enough to know there was more to this than simply recovering from her previous trials... To be frank, Nanoha was on medical leave so that she could have a more flexible schedule... so that she could keep an eye on Ame and Iri – one due to her sheer unusualness and suspect nature, and the other due to the fact she had been targeted by someone recently.

When Vivio announced she brought a friend over, and Nanoha stepped out to see Iri standing in the entry-hall, the Ace of Aces mentally checked something off her to-do list.


	8. Lost Treasures

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri.

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:** Iri can't read you like a book in the manner Ame can (with her limited understanding of social mechanics), but she's very empathetic.

So on to more serious things... literally. You should note this chapter's generally a bit darker than the others, or at the very least more serious as a couple of new characters are introduced and Iri recieves the spotlight for a while. I'm actually a little worried this came out a little too... 'mopey' toward the end. Should be interesting to hear your opinions over the first scene, anyway.

**Taeniaea's Note: **Nice to see the story finally unfolding more, also nice to see new characters. Special thanks to NIkly for being the only person to review more than a single chapter of the story!

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Seven:Treasures**

* * *

><p><strong>Day After the Attack<strong>

**0500 Hours**

**-Unknown Location-**

Through the pristine white corridors of a facility, located somewhere in space and time, walked a figure, another, slightly taller figure trailing behind it. The shorter one, garbed in a simple white tunic with matching pants, was a girl. She stood at a height of about five feet, and was relatively well-built, but still plain... largely due to the modest nature of her garb. The girl's hair was cut short, except for the bangs on her face's left side, and was a dark ebony in color. Her eyes were a deep teal in color, and almost empty, reflecting everything that they gazed upon back on itself. Behind her was another girl, apparently older, but no features could really be discerned through the armor and mask she wore.

It was not long before she found her destination, a nondescript door seemingly alike to all others passed in her journey. Entering it revealed a large, empty white room, higher in the center than the side. Almost immediately after entering, a pitch-black blast of energy flew toward her, only to break upon a white shield, held suspended over the girl's now outstretched hand.

"Priri, must you attack everyone you come across as soon as you see them?"

Hovering in the air several yards away was another, younger girl dressed in a mirror of the first's clothes, but with a mantle and hood that concealed her face.

"But Secele," The girl said in mock indignation, "I don't attack everybody. Just yesterday I went out into the city, and only two people got hurt while I was there."

Secele's eyes narrowed, and a large, narrow shard made of some sort of transparent crystal materialized above her, before flying at Priri, who batted it aside with a sbingle hand, sheathed in black energy. "You-!"

"I didn't say _I_ hurt them, did I?" Priri shot out, almost mockingly, before she hovered to the ground, another masked girl almost exactly the same in appearance to to the one that attended Secele moving toward her, only to back off at a sudden gesture. "I'm quite upset about it myself, thank you very much."

"You are, are you?" Secele asked sharply, "I bet you only care because-" Secele was cut off by another, larger blast of black energy that obscured her position.

"You shut up!" Priri exclaimed. "Like you would know how I feel, you memory-less doll!" Whatever else Priri might have said, she was given pause at a sudden gust of wind. Turning around, Priri found the masked girl that had moved to tend her was now standing in a guarded position, several crystal fragments adorning the floor in front of her as she held her hands in an x formation, a shimmering blue shield vibrating steadily in place over them. A couple feet away, massive white bow in hand, stood Secele, several arrows of pure white energy held in her free hand, expression painted with sheer, unbridled fury.

"Never. Say that. Again."

In response, Priri smirked. "Cute. Did Destiny teach you that expression? Oh wait, Destiny _doesn't have a face._"

Secele's grip on her arrows loosened, and the masked figure in the doorway tensed slightly, but fortunately their attention was diverted by the sound of a loud clap. Turning, they saw a robed man standing on a platform adorning one of the walls. "Alright now ladies, that's quite enough."

"Hark." Immediately, Secele's bow and arrows vanished, followed by Eternity's shield a few seconds later as everyone in the room relaxed... except for Priri, whose stance remained as aggressive as before, right hand crackling with black energy as she turned her attention to him.

"Hmph. You say that, but you were watching up until that point, weren't you, you slimy bastard?" The black garbed girl accused. The man's genial smile wavered slightly, but he still gestured for the other occupants in the room to stand down, as it looked like the lot of them were about to attack.

"Really now, is that how someone your age should be talking?" He asked.

In response, Priri shrugged, "You're not the best of role-models. Didn't even answer the question."

"It wasn't a question though, was it?" Hark shot back in return.

"I suppose not." Priri admitted, the sparks around her hand coalescing into a ball and launching at Hark, all in a single second. In that time, a barrier was also erected to block the attacks that came from all sides, surrounding Priri in a thick black dome, impenetrable to the stabs of the masked girls' swords, with Secele's volley of arrows being deflected. Hark, on the other end of this exchange, simply caught the ball, only to toss it away immediately. A moment later, it exploded in the air.

"Really now," Hark spoke as the dome dissipated, revealing Priri had somehow changed position. "is that really any way to treat your benefactor?"

Directly behind him, Priri shrugged again. "My benefactor you may be, but you're still trash to me."

Smile still in place, Hark whirled about, delivering a fierce blow to Priri, who was sent into the wall... where her form destabilized into countless back particles that all vanished. "You..." He growled under his breathe, turning to find Priri standing on the platform opposite from him, arms crossed nonchalantly.

"Aren't you so proud of me? You taught me that trick, after all."

In response, Hark's frown reformed back into his previous smile. "Indeed. You're getting quite skilled with it..." His form melted away into a series of silver particles, and Priri found a large ball of silver energy hovering directly next to her head as Hark spoke from beside her, "But I'm still the master here." The ball fired, slamming into the side of Priri's head and knocking her from the platform.

On the ground, the masked girl that had defended Priri before caught her, cradling her singed frame gently, form bent over that of the other girl's as her barrier jacket disintegrated, causing her hood to vanish.

"Eternity," Hark called out, and the girl cradling Priri looked up. "...take her to her room. She's grounded."

Eternity stalled a moment, before lifting Priri and doing as asked. As the masked girl passed through the door, Hark caught Priri's violet eyes, smoldering with fury, and smirked before the girl vanished from his sight and he turned his attention back to the others in the room.

**0600 Hours**

**-District IV, Takamichi Residence**

**-Iriai Seitsu**

_A fist struck forward, only to hit a shining white barrier, rebounding easily._

"_Come on, you can do it! Just like I showed you!" A voice called._

_Encouraged, the owner of the fist tried again, a sheathe of violet energy erupting from their wrist and covering their hand as they struck the barrier again, pushing against it slightly before being repelled._

"_Keep trying!" The voice called, and again the fist impacted the barrier, and again, cracking it slightly with very blow._

"_You're almost there!"_

_The fist struck it once more, and it shattered, falling away in a shower of glimmering fragments of magic. "Good job, Iri!"_

_Panting slightly, and cradling her right hand, Iri smiled as she looked her twin in the eye as the magic fell about them like snow before dissipating... and then the ground beneath Ren suddenly jutted forward before rupturing and falling out beneath her. Panicked, Iri rushed forward, reaching for her twins' hand... but Ren was already too far away, and vanished into the abyss._

"_I'm sorry!" She shouted, as Iri tried to jump into the abyss after her, struggling against the hands that kept her back, "I never wanted to leave you alone!"_

_As those words echoed about, the world seemed to fall away around Iri, leaving her in an empty void..._

"_I never wanted to leave you alone..."_

When Iri woke up in an unfamiliar room, she stared at the ceiling for a while. It seemed so far away to her, but if she could just reach up... '_...if I could just reach a little higher... maybe I could reach her.'_

Iri was brought from her thoughts by an exuberant voice, "You're awake!" The quiet girl blinked, before turning to see Vivio's cheery, heterochromatic eyes.

"Vivio," Iri stated, slightly drowsy, as her blonde companion sped out of the room. '_What was she doing this close to the bed, anyway?' _Iri thought, before blinking again. '_Ah, that's right, this is her room.'_ Standing, Iri noted the rolled-up futon peeking out of the closet, '_Why'd she insist I use the bed? It's her room. She shouldn't have to sleep on the floor.'_

Following the scent of breakfast and the sound of voices, Iri traveled down the hall and to find a dining area with three people in it.

One was Vivio, who had just finished reporting that Iri was awake. The next was Nanoha, who was busy at the counter, preparing food, and the final one was Fate, who was sitting in the chair and watching Vivio with a soft smile on her face... that immediately vanished when she saw Iri enter. '_Is that fear in her eyes? Why does she look so guilt-ridden?'_

"Ohayo gozaimasu." Fate stated softly, prompting Nanoha to turn and echo her alongside Vivio.

"Ohayo," Iri responded, almost as quiet as Fate had been.\

As Nanoha cooked, Vivio looked between the two, the former staring unobtrusively at the table while the latter stared just above the former's head. Frowning, Vivio spoke up, "Have you met Fate-mama before, Iri-chan?"

"I lost my diary a while ago, and she returned it to me," Iri said, as Fate nodded. "Hino-nee was really grateful for that sketch you signed, by the way."

"I'm glad." Fate replied simply. The conversation died down and reverted into an awkward silence, before Nanoha turned, carrying several plats of food and laying them about the table, giving a knowing look to Fate as she set the blonde ace's plate down, causing Fate to smile sheepishly in response.

"So, Iri," Nanoha started, "What all can you do with your magic?" The brunette was obviously trying to incite a conversation from the introverted girl, but Iri only responded upon feeling Vivio's curious, almost expectant gaze on her back.

"Well..." Iri mumbled, after a time, and Vivio leaned forward eagerly as Nanoha watched, bemused, "...I can break things." Iri finished, averting her gaze from the table and its occupants.

Raising a brow slightly, Nanoha simply chuckled slightly to herself as Vivio jumped on the vague wording of Iri's statement. "What kind of things?" She asked brightly.

"...shields, binds... magic constructs in general... I'm really good at destabilizing magic... Ren drilled it into me... because I couldn't stabilize magic as well as she could... still can't..." The violet-eyed girl elaborated, sounding somewhat forced. At the mention of Ren's name, Fate lowered her gaze again... something Nanoha's sharp eyes didn't fail to miss.

Discreetly kicking Fate's chair as she sat down, Nanoha spoke, "You were certainly good at breaking out of the hospital's restraints."

Iri looked away, blushing slightly, "...sorry for the trouble."

"I'm sure you troubled Shamal more than anyone else. She was the one applying the blinds." Nanoha commented teasingly, kicking Fate's chair again, and prompting the blonde to look up and narrow her red eyes at Nanoha, slightly irritated, only for her to stare right back, a smile firmly planted on her face. Thankfully, they were spared the other two occupants of the table's notice as Vivio's attention was thoroughly anchored on Iri... and Iri was too distracted by Vivio to pay attention to much anything else as the girl decided to join in on the teasing.

"Wow, you don't look like it, but you're really a trouble-maker, aren't you Iri?"

The girl in question's response was to lower her gaze even further, blush deepening.

As Nanoha kicked her chair again, smile still in place, Fate sighed before finally contributing to the conversation. "It's good you have a skill you've worked to hone. Make it even sharper. Don't let it go to waste." Unlike the others' light-hearted attitudes, Fate couldn't bring herself to smile and tease the girl before her. Not yet anywa, and so what should've been simple banter turned into solemn advice, and the conversation died down a little, save for a nod from Iri, if that could even be counted.

It was Fate who broke the silence this time, to the others' slight surprise. "Why don't we visit the Hayate's house later?"

Needless to say, Vivio jumped on the idea, to her adoptive parent's slight humor. On the side-line, Iri sat trying to come up with something to say, when Vivio turned to her, catching her attention. "It'll be fun, right, Iri-chan?"

There was something about Vivio's smile that you couldn't refuse without feeling guilty, and given that Iri was already uncertain...

"Yeah."

**About the Same Time**

**-Unknown Location**

**-Priri**

Priri's 'room,' if it could be rightly called such, was in reality a steel cell, heavily armored, with an equally sturdy door that could only be opened from without. Within, her 'bed' was just a shelf of the same material jutting from the wall. There was nothing else to speak of.

It was not something Priri was too upset about, in truth. She knew why these measures were taken.

When Priri slept, she dreamed, and when she dreamed... she grew restless. The more upset she became, the more volatile her magic, and Priri's dreams frequently made her upset. As a result, when she slept her magic tore itself free of her unconscious regulation and simply ravaged everything not heavily armored and bolted down. It was not safe for her to wander about freely, as her temperament was as volatile as her magic. It was not safe for others to visit her freely either, as her magic could easily tear them to pieces with or without her consent.

And so Priri lived, when she wasn't training, in what amounted to solitary confinement... but knowledge and sufferance did not necessarily lead to acceptance.

And so, laying on her back, head aching terribly, Priri could think only of how cold her steel surroundings were, as opposed to the world denied to her in her dreams... and how terribly the hole in her heart burned. '_I'll repay you for this. I know it's your fault I'm limited in these ways... bastard.'_

It was as Priri slept fitfully, dreaming of the greener pastures which she'd been denied entrance to, that Eternity found the girl. A purely artificial being – a genetically engineered human that was then subjected to extensive modifications – Eternity was the only being that could enter Priri's room at their leisure, save Hark.

The girl's sole attendant, and the only being in the entire facility that could harbor any sympathy to the unstable girl that was her charge... but Eternity could not voice these feelings, or convey them in any way, or even acknowledge them herself, and thus Priri's solitary guardian dressed and tended to her injury in dutiful silence.

If she was given leisure to formulate such things, Eterniy might wonder what Priri dreamed of, that set her so ablaze with fury... yet left her eager to return to it.

Not that Eternity would understand if she were given this knowledge and ability.

Just another shackle.


	9. The Final Piece is in Play

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri.

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:** So, good news? This chapter came out really fast, there's some more character development, and Subaru finally gets another part! And there's an OMAKE.

**Taeniaea's Note:** Bad news... Subaru gets another part. Poor Subaru T.T

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Nine: Final Piece**

* * *

><p><strong>1000 Hours, Day After the Attack<strong>

**-District IV, Yagami Residence**

**-Nanoha Takamachi**

In the time since she'd come to know her, Nanoha had come to several conclusions about Iri. First and foremost... the girl was quite lost without her twin, which was to be expected. Subsequently she was constantly dodging around any subjects that mike pry too deeply into her memories, and she'd also occasionally lapse into silence and avert her gaze. When in a crowded area, the girl would lower her head and watch her steps with the utmost care, unless she was engaged in some other activity...

All this combined, and Iri became very easily distracted. At the doorstep of Hayate's house, Nanoha wondered at how similar Iri and Ame seemed to be, superficially, anyway.

The fact that Ame was already opening the door before she could ring the doorbell or knock spoke volumes about the differences between the two. "Hello Ame-chan," Nanoha said, smiling, "we decided to come over and visit for a while... who's home right now?"

"Zafira." The girl replied, looking at Vivio a moment before her gaze slid over to Iri... and lingered there until Nanoha spoke again.

"She's staying at our house until her elder sister returns from an assignment."

In response, Ame simply nodded, stepping aside to let them in as Zafira stepped into the hallway from the stairs. "Nanoha." He spoke in greeting as Vivio began bodily dragging Iri – who protested slightly in vain – and Ame, who simply allowed herself to be manhanded – toward the back of the house "...Vivio's energetic as ever, I see." The guardian beast observed.

"Yeah, she only seems to grow livelier every day... not that she was the most conversational of children when we first met..." Nanoha replied, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "Think Ame will ever grow to be that outgoing?"

In response, Zafira shrugged. "Probably not... if she does, I'd be very surprised... and slightly disturbed."

Nanoha let out a light chuckle as the two of them followed the children toward the back of the house.

**Same Time**

**-Unknown Location**

**-Hark**

In a darkened room, Hark stood facing a broken capsule mounted on the wall. It was smoking around the edges, and sparks were randomly leaping out from it at any given opportunity... '_A perfect success.'_ He thought maliciously, before turning around, false smile in place, to the masked gynoid that had been standing behind him. "Retrieve it. I don't care how long it takes you, but I'd like you to try your best to do so as quickly as possible... and don't kill it. You're authorized to use any resources not currently allocated... and do remind Secele what her chores for the day are."

The gynoid nodded, vanishing into the darkness.

'_All the pieces are in place.'_ Hark thought as his false smile became real, the satisfaction clear on his face. '_Let the game begin!'_

**-Unknown Location, Priri's Room**

**-Priri**

Priri's eyes snapped open, her hand flying up to catch Eternity's as the masked cyborg made to adjust a bandage around her head. Seeing it was just Eternity, Priri let the hand drop, speaking instead. "Eternity..." The cyborg inclined her head, showing she was listening. "...would you do me a favor?"

Eternity remained silent, hands stilling, mute prompt for Priri to continue.

"...I need you to protect her for me, since Hark's not going to let me out again any time soon... Can you do that?"

The girl's attendant remained silent for several long moments before finally nodding.

"Thanks... You can leave now."

Eternity would have stayed anyway, to tend Priri as per her primary directive... but for the sake of her well-being, Hark had instructed her not to go against Priri too often or too much... given the circumstances, Eternity was relatively sure that was a command, and so she left the girl to herself.

As the cyborg left, Priri was wreathed in black aura, crackling ominously like some kind of miniature thunderstorm. Eyes clenching shut, Priri ground her teeth and weathered the storm as her magic tore into her steel surroundings.

'_...that's what I get for holding back too much in that last fight... should've milked it for all it was worth. Now I feel guilty about antagonizing her...'_ She thought, before she lost consciousness as the arcane storm continued around her, her wounds healing.

**-1100 District III, Public Park**

**-Subaru Nakajima**

'_What a terrible sight...'_ Subaru thought as she walked through the remains of District III's primary park. The whole place was scorched and ruined – benches overturned, fountains broken. There was construction and reparation going on everywhere, but this part of the park had yet to receive any attention. Given how far removed it was... '_At least the bodies have been moved.'_

Passing a crater, Subaru paused and turned. '_I didn't just...'_ Unfortunately, she did.

In the crater, surrounded by faint wisps of smoke, was a young girl about Ame, Iri, or Vivio's age, with long, black hair... and wearing a familiar white, one-piece dress.

Immediately Subaru rushed into the crater. The odds were slim, but she checked the girl's vitals anyway... and pulled her hand back almost immediately at the sheer _heat_ the girl was emitting. '_...she's still breathing!'_

Any further thoughts on Subaru's part were cut off as the girl opened her eyes. '_Those eyes...'_ They reminded her too much of Ame. Deep, passive, like an endless, blue well. '_...but...'_ Unlike Ame, this girl's eyes were focused acutely on her, and _only_ her. There was no examining of the environment from her. No apparent loss of interest. It was unnerving, in a way.

Blinking, Subaru realized there was an ominous air of danger wrapped tightly around the girl. It felt like she was dealing with a coiled snake, almost.

"...Are you alright?" Subaru asked, snapping herself out of her stupor.

The girl said nothing in response, keeping her vigil... eying Subaru as if expecting her to suddenly lash out at any moment. '_…it's like dealing with a less trusting version of Ame.'_ Subaru thought, somewhat dejectedly. Just as Subaru was deciding whether or not she would approach the girl, she was distracted when she registered several new magical presences near her. The girl noticed too, it seemed, as her eyes darted away from Subaru, analyzing the edge of the crater... which was now ringed by five gynoids.

'_Those are the same as the ones from the Red Sky Incident!'_ Subaru thought, immediately activating her barrier jacket. The girl, on her end, remained motionless, watching events unfold with the same wariness as ever.

"Bureau officer." One of the gynoids spoke in a monotonous, empty tone, "Leave now, or be neutralized."

"As if!" Subaru spoke defiantly, even as her mind ran through the capabilities these were shown to have previously. There were at least two versions, each indistinguishable from the other. One could fabricate any magical weapon it needed, the other had blades mounted on its arms. They were both extraordinarily fast, but the latter moved almost instantaneously... whichever types these were, Subaru didn't expect this to be a pretty fight.

Unfortunately, there was a noncombatant nearby, and she was out of range to contact any support. She'd just have to hold out. '_If only Tea wasn't off-planet.'_

'_D-III sucks!'_ Subaru mentally whined in the depths of her mind not being used to assess the situation.

There were no more words from the gynoids, but in the time it took for Subaru to finish her assessment (a little under a second), they _moved._

Subaru Nakajima was an experimental, biologically engineered cyborg capable of tracking targets and processing information at least as twice as fast as the average human. She could take enough punishment to render an ordinary human unconscious and keep going, ignoring what pain there was supposed to be.

...neither of those facts helped her much when the gynoids around her suddenly went from the edge of the crater, to being right on top of her, arm-mounted blades stabbing forward in just the right way to render her a pin-cushion without obstructing each other.

Unfortunately for the gynoids, Subaru was also a reasonably experienced, competent officer used to reacting on the fly. Which meant, rather than be impaled in five different places, she deflected the first two blows into each-other, tripping the ones responsible as she did so. While they were recovering, she'd also ducked under the attacks from the other three assailants, fist cocking back and striking toward one... only for the lot of them to suddenly flicker out of view, back at the edge of the clearing.

'_Incredibly fast... no kidding.'_ Subaru noted, watching them warily. '_...it's like a game of cat and mouse.'_

Behind her, the girl continued to watch, unblinking. It was at that moment Subaru made a mistake, "...just stay there, okay?"

It was a brief moment of distraction, and Subaru hadn't let her guard down entirely... but it was more than enough for the gynoids. In that short span of time, one had already shiftld location right next to her, blade extended. It was too late to bat it aside, so Subaru did the next best thing... she caught it, gritting her teeth as blood started pouring from her left hand as sparks started to dance out of it. As the others closed in, Subaru pulled, wincing as this damaged her hand even further, but it allowed her to grapple the gynoid, bringing it around to shield her from the three attacks coming at her flank.

There was no blood from the wounds it sustained, confirming her suspicions that, these, at least, were completely mechanical.

Letting the gynoid go, Subaru stepped back, spinning on her heel, right fist pulled back and striking forward at one of the gynoids as it appeared behind her, only for it to vanish from view. Stepping back and pulling her left hand up on reflex, Subaru barely dodged another attack and blocked one aimed at her heart... sacrificing the epidermal layers of her forearm in the process. The other gynoids had recovered by this point, going for fatal strikes...

An raging inferno of flames washed over the battlefield. Oddly, it didn't burn Subaru as it should have... it felt almost like a warm blanket.

When the cyborg's vision cleared, the girl was standing in front of her, flames flickering dimly around her small hands... and in front of the girl was the smoldering remains of three gynoids. The last gynoid was standing at the edge of the crater, clearly damaged as its right arm hung limply, and it favored one leg slightly.

It vanished and appeared between the girl and Subaru, blade extended toward the girl... only to be smothered with flames jutting away from the girl's back. As it fell, the flames dissipating to leave it a smoking mess, the girl turned to Subaru, eyes a cool, aged red, "_Eb et sollum. Sel tyr si vi._" She spoke, voice quiet but still carrying itself to Subaru clearly. The foreign words meant nothing to her, but there was an air of timelessness at work.

The flames flickering around the girl's hands vanished as the red melted out of her eyes.

The expression on her face was almost confused... and then she fell forward, unconscious, as Subaru rushed to her side instinctively, catching her small frame.

In the folds of the girl's dress, unseen by Subaru, a red-oaken pendant in the shape of a sword glimmered eerily.

It was only when the support team arrived that Subaru realized just how tired she was... and just how much her left arm _hurt_ right now.

**-Unknown Location, Secele's Room**

**-Secele**

Secele wasn't the most empathetic of individuals, but, despite what Priri claimed sometimes, she did have a moral compass. Right now, it was pointing away from the direction Hark wanted her to go in, but...

Her fists clenched slightly.

...there was no other choice. It was the only way to reach the answers she sought.

Hark had taken the key to her past, tied it to the end of a stick, and held it tauntingly in front of her. If she wanted it, she had to go the way he directed.

'_The answers are there. I know he has them.'_ She thought, staring at the blank white wall of her room. '_...if only I were strong enough to force them out of him... sorry...'_

If only she knew who it was she kept apologizing to, maybe she wouldn't be in this situation.

Then again... did she really want to know?

The answer was always yes, no matter how she looked at it... and so she left her room, Destiny appearing at her side, as she started off down the hall.

If she were to win this little game Hark had thrown her in, and get the prize at the end... she had to become stronger. Strong enough to get the knowledge she wanted without help.

Strong enough to justify the crimes she would be forced to commit in the future.

**OMAKE**

_**-Mirror-Ame, Impregnable Style-Thief**_

In the living room of the Yagami Residence, Nanoha and Iri were watching Ame and Vivio fight each-other to a complete stand-still on Vita's fighting game, for the third round in a row.

"How do they do that?" Iri asked.

"I have no idea." A bemused Nanoha responded, "...every time Vivio changes tactics, Ame mimics her flawlessly."

"It's almost like she's reading Vivio's mind..." Iri stated, bewildered.

"Maybe she is." Nanoha replied, smiling mischievously as Iri's face shifted through a variety of different expressions as she contemplated the implications.

The round came to an end with both Vivio's avatar and Ame's pulling the same finisher.

"Geeze, Ame-chan!" Vivio exclaimed, "...can't you use someone else's play style?"

"...you beat everyone else. If the objective is to win, it would be detrimental to do so."

"The goal isn't to win though, it's to have fun!"

"...you weren't having fun?"

Vivio paused in her coming rant, before sighing. "You're right... it was fun. I just can't counter you!"

"...I can't counter you either, though." Ame noted, and Vivio's cheer returned.

"Yeah. I guess we're just both too good at it now, huh..?" Suddenly, without prompt, Vivio turned around, giving Nanoha the puppy-dog expression. "Nanoha-mama, can you try and beat her?"

"Now, now Vivio," Nanoha spoke, "...that's hardly sportsmanlike of you."

"This isn't a sport!" She replied, "It's a matter of video game justice!"

Iri piped in this time, "...it isn't really very sportsmanlike of Ame to just mimic her, after all..."

"Exactly!" Vivio exclaimed, latching onto Iri's argument, "She needs to be taught a lesson! You're the only one I know who can beat me, so please?"

At this, Nanoha sighed. "Fine, I'll _try._"

Later, after fifty-six consecutive matches between Nanoha and Ame.

"I surrender." Nanoha said, head lowered as she dropped her controller.

"It's not fair!" Vivio cried, "She's even mimicked Nanoha-mama! We're doomed!"

Ame continued staring at them impassively, controller in hand.

From that day forward, she could never be beaten on that particular game again.


	10. Declaration of War

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri.

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:** And the dams break.

**Taeniaea's Note:** The action picks up, Hark begins to make his _real_ moves.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Ten: Declaration of War**

* * *

><p><strong>1200 Hours<strong>

**-District III Hospital**

-**Subaru Nakajima**

Subaru averted her eyes sheepishly as Nanoha entered the lobby area she and the girl she had saved were in, disapproving frown in place.

"Subaru." Nanoha began. "...what's this I hear about you engaging five opponents of unknown capabilities at once?" In the background, at the edge of the door, Subaru could just make out Vivio's face peaking through the door-frame alongside a girl with violet eyes who was staring at Zafira, who was in wolf form, curiously. '_Wait...'_ Subaru thought, '_Zafira was watching...'_

Lo and behold, the blue-headed girl she had been looking for had somehow manifested next to her injured arm, staring at the bandages. When the girl looked up, meeting Subaru's eyes, the Silver Ace cringed internally.

"There was a non-combatant..." Subaru started, only for Nanoha to cut her off.

"Your baseline report says you caught a sword _bare-handed_." The agitated ace countered, "Explain that!"

"If I didn't catch it, it would have done significantly more-"

"Dodge it, or cast a barrier!"

"There wasn't enough time to, I had to remain stationary, they were targeting the girl!" Subaru exclaimed defensively.

On the other end of the exchange, Nanoha's threatening expression remained, promising pain, even as it melted away and the Ace of Aces sighed. "I know." She conceded, "...you just worried me... and someone else too, it looks like."

At that, Subaru's gaze drifted back to Ame, who was currently staring at the girl Subaru had rescued fervently, before looking up. "Subaru-neesama..." She said, trailing off slightly, as if unsure what to say next, "...you're not allowed to lose."

Of all the thing Subaru might have expected the soft-spoken girl to say, that was the last of the list, if it was even there. Still...

"I'm here, right?" She said, ruffling the girls hair with her good hand. "That means I won."

"No..." Ame said, "...it means you didn't lose."

"You're hard to reassure, you know."

She didn't respond immediately, attention flitting back to the girl laying on the cot next to Subaru. "...sorry."

When Subaru turned to face Ame... it was to find her staring into the eyes of the girl Subaru had most recently saved.

"_Quel re nem, tenus?"_ The girl spoke. The words weren't understandable, but clearly a question. It didn't surprise Subaru so much as everyone else she didn't speak a recognized language, as she'd spoken in it before... what _did_ surprise her was when Ame replied in the same language.

"_Quel re nem, diulo-ex?"_

There was a pause in their conversation as the two stared at each other, one warily, and the other impassively. It was a battle of suspicion versus indifference... and apparently indifference won, because the black-haired on spoke broke the silence, "Raven."

"...Ame Yagami."

"Ame..." Subaru asked, calling both girls' attention, one's eyes a deep red, the other a solemn blue, "...how is it you can communicate with her?"

When Ame tilted her head and asked, "You can't?" Subaru felt a deep, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The other girl, Raven, if they had just done what Subaru thought they did, apparently identified the problem and, after glancing around the room for a moment, closed her eyes, peeking Ame's interest and drawing the blue-haired girl's attention completely back to her. '_She's so focused... I wonder if she even sees anyone else right now?'_

When Raven's eyes opened, they were blue. What was more disconcerting, however, was when the girl began looking about confusedly, latching onto Subaru and Ame's faces.

"...Where?" She spoke, clearly understandable to everyone in the room. For a moment, Subaru wasn't sure it was the girl before that had actually said the words, having heard nothing but the cautious, solemn tone of exotic, illegible words come from her mouth before.

That didn't stop the question from being answered, though. "A hospital. We were attacked, remember?"

"No..." The girl said, "...no I don't."

Subaru and Nanoha exchanged a glance.

**-District Zero, Hayate's Office**

-**Hayate Yagami**

Miraculously, or not if you really thought about the effort involved, Hayate had finished her paperwork for the day... and then she recieved a message. Turning to her computer, Hayate saw a pending video conference with Yuuno. '_Impeccable timing as always, here we go...'_ She thought, recalling the request she'd sent a couple of days ago.

"Yuuno." Hayate said as the boy's face appeared on screen.

"Hayate." He returned, "...I looked into that seal design you sent me." He shifted slightly.

"And?"

"And..." He took a breathe, "...I haven't found a single match, or anything similar."

Hayate sighed, leaning back and massaging her forehead. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." He affirmed. "...but, from looking at it myself... it's capable of holding back an enormous sum of power... but there're several misalligned runes that cause it to fail."

"Fail how?" Hayate asked.

"...if it's holding up to its maximum capacity? I'd say in the span of one to two weeks, all the layers will break, with twice as much energy in each layer... that's enough power to cause a catastrophic dimmensional rupture. What's worse, is that the seal is tenuous enough that attempting to draw power from it only weakens it further and accelerates the process." Yuuno's face grew serious, "Hayate, where did the design for this seal come from?"

"My adopted daughter." The young officer replied. "It's currently being used to hold an unknown amount of magical energy within her."

"Where is she now?" Yuuno asked immediately.

"With Zafira at my house, but he sent me a notice that Nanoha had arrived and that they were going to the District III hospital so Nanoha could get a report from Subaru over... over an attack from the same androids as the ones from the Red Sky Incident." Finishing, realization dawned on Hayate's face as she cursed under her breathe. "Ame was found during that incident, surrounded by mechanical parts! She's a target!"

"Hayate-" Yuuno started, but the bruenette had already stood, heading for the door as Rein sped to her side.

Pulling out her phone as she entered the elevator of the command building, Hayate began dialing Fate's number.

"Fate. You need to get to the hospital, now." She stated.

Their unknown adversaries were moving, en masse, and given the nature of the incident where, if she was correct, they _first_ tried accomplishing their objectives...

They wouldn't be stopped by a meagre force of TSAB personnell... aces or no aces.

'W_hat kept them from moving...?'_ She wondered, even as she rushed out of the office building, drawing curious, bewildered stares all the way.

**-District IV**

**-Fate Testaraossa-Harlaown**

When Fate recieved Hayate's call and heard her tone, she forsook her place at the spaceport. She had skipped out on going with Vivio to Hayate's for it... but given the circumstances, if Hayate was concerned that meant something big was happening.

As she entered her car and began speeding toward the hospital, fast as she could without breaking any laws, one might wonder how much faster she'd have gone if she knew just how true that was.

**-Somewhere in District III**

**-Secele**

Secele stood atop a high rooftop, looking over the ravaged remains of the District. '_So much destruction has already been visited upon this place... why, of all places, did you flee here?'_

Destiny appeared beside her, and Secele turned slightly, a solemn expression on her face. "They're ready?" The cyborg nodded, and Secele turned back to the city, observing it for a few moments. From the rubble below, to the glimmering white in the distance. "They know their paremeters?" It was a pointless question, but any time Secele could waste...

Destiny's hand placed itself on her shoulder, tightening slightly. Not at all reassuringly, either... it was a warning. Secele knew enough to figure that out.

Lowering her head, and mentally asking for forgiveness, Secele's next words were quiet. "Then let's begin."

'_Sorry.'_

And thus the Third Pedestrian District of Mid-Childa was overcome by chaos once more.

**-Elsewhere**

**-Eternity**

As per Priri's request, Eternity had remained within interception range of the girl Priri wished to protect. That is, she'd stayed within a mile of her at all times. When Secele initiated Hark's latest procedure... Eterniy's processing chip kicked into gear, dictating her response.

Some small part of her found it insulting.

Multiple signatures detected. Label: Type-Alpha Bio-Mechanical Combat Unit. Total: 24 and counting. Targets Moving toward Secondary Objective. Probable Hostility. Secondary Objective: Protect individual 'Iriai Seitsu.' Priority: High...

Initiating Counter-Procedures.

...but that same part which found the forced compulsion a humiliation, was, in this particular case, in agreement with the course of action... which only spurred Eternity on even more.

The cyborg moved from a passive position in the recesses of a broken building to a dead sprint, moving at speeds untrackable by the average human's eye... only to grind to a stop several feet from the building. All around her were the masked gynoids, arm-blades drawn.

Surrounded. Subjects deemed hostile. In direct way of objective.

Initiating Counter-Procedure.

Eternity moved, and the gynoids vanished from sight.

There was little to be seen save for random flashes of blue light, but anyone capable of tracking the speeds at which the beligerents were moving would realize something shocking... and disturing.

Eternity's attackers were teleporting instantaneously from one location to the next, working together seamlessly in a pattern designed specifically to disable their target as quickly as possible... but Eternity was not only keeping up with them, but gradually gaining the upper hand.

As more gynoids arrived, that small human part of Eternity let out a groan of frustration.

Obviously, moving to assist Iri wasn't an option until these were dealt with.

Action Inhibitor#1 Released.

...the flashes of blue light began to increase in frequency and intensity as the severed limbs and broken remains of gynoids began to litter the streets.

**-Inside Hospital**

Nanoha didn't know exactly what happened, but the personnel in the hospital tensed almost in unison... when there was an explosion, it took a large sum of Nanoha's willpower not to imemdiately go investigate it. '_I'm responsible for Vivio, Iri, Ame, and everyone else in this room right now... Subaru's injured. If I leave right now, and something happens... Ame's seal is weak enough, I don't know anything about Raven, and if Vivio were to let loose, who knows what'd happen...'_

"You can go. Hayate's already joined the fight outside. We'll take care of things here." Nanoha turned, seeing Signum and Shamal standing in the doorway, ushering Vivio and Iri into the room. "Zafira's outside as well."

Nanoha nodded, rushing out the door. Turning to Subaru, Signum continued, "Caro and Erio are at a point between here and the front doors – Hayate manged to arrange their deployment. You're going to be acting as a buffer between us and the front line... Hayate's worried about an attack." Subaru nodded, heading for the door and pausing as Shamal leveled a threatening gaze on her.

"No more catching sharp objects with your hands. I'm not cleaning up the mess that makes of you if I don't have to."

Subaru nodded again, "I'll try not to." And with that she was gone, and Shamal closed the door behind her, Signum levelling a meangful stare at Vivio, Iri, Ame, and Raven.

"You four are staying here. No exceptions."

**-Fate**

When Fate started seeing explosions in the distance from her position on the highway, she forsook her car entirely, activating her barrier jacket and flying toward the ravaged district.

Upon entering it, Fate was greeted by a warzone. There were drones everywhere, engaging TSAB forces at every turn. She helped where she could, but Hayate had told her to go to the hospital... which meant whatever was happening would be centered there and, sure enough, as Fate grew closer to it the intensity of the fighting increased. The hospital itself was almost under siege, with the TSAB concentrating as many forces as it could just outside it, fighting a veritable swarm of drones.

Nanoha and Hayate were on the roof of the hospital, periodically firing large shooter spells into the enemy ranks... which seemed to fill up almost as fast as they were emptied. '_It's like the JS Incident... but worse... at least there's no massive starship in the sky.'_

'_Fate'_Hayate's voice rang out in her ear, '_Go join Signum and Shamal inside. You're more suited to close-quarters fighting.'_

'_Right.'_ Fate returned, entering the hospital. '_Which room?'_

_'First floor, 5A.'_

Fate couldn't help but look back at the destruction being wrought in front of the hospital. '_In a matter of minutes... Cranaagan has become the site of a small war... how?'_

**-Priri's Room**

**-Priri**

_As always, Priri stood in an empty room, staring through the clear glass of a solitary window. Outsie the window, in the garden below, two girls were at play. One faceless, features indistinct – the other the person she instinctively recognized as Iriai._

_Under her passive observation, they played their games as they had every time she'd visited this place before... but this time...Iri tripped, falling and skinning her knee. As the other girl moved toward Iri...everything fell away, leaving Iri sitting alone in a vast sea of darkness, hands reaching toward her from the depths at all angles as she gazed about, confused and afraid..._

Priri's eyes snapped open, and she stood from her bed immediately. Clenching her fists, her magic came easily, washing over them in a crackling black sheathe. Stepping to the door, Priri took a stance and closed her violet eyes, gathering even more magical power in front of her right fist in the form of a black orb, drawn back, as a large seal appeared in front of her left.

As the orb grew to be the size of her head, an ethereal wind picked up, blowing her hood down, allowing her hair, a stark contrasting mix of black and white strands, to fall free above her eyes.

Priri's right hand opened, as if to grasp the air, and pulled back, causing the orb to double in size. Opening her eyes, Priri thrust her hand forward, into the ball. The orb swelled, obscuring her beneath it.

**"Sphere Shell Burst!"** Her voice cried from within the sphere, and it exploded, washing over her room and obscuring everything.

When the magical energy cleared, Priri was standing in front of a ruptured steel wall surrounded by scorched ground. Wordlessly, she levitated off of the ground before rocketing out into the corridors.

'_No time for your games, Hark'_ She thought, encountering a gynoid and blasting it aside, and another, and another.

A trail of destruction was left in her wake.

'_Eternity can't save you. That means I have to.'_

**-Laboratory**

**-Hark**

"Finally." Hark spoke, a small amount of awe in his voice as he directed security detachments into Priri's path and watched them be thrown aside effortlessly. "I've been waiting to see this far too long... it's unfortunate for you, but your actions have been accounted for." He smiled darkly, "...Now I just need to take care of some loose ends."

With that, he vanished in a flash of silver-white light.

**Chapter End**


	11. Havoc!

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:** Lots of action. Lots of power being thrown around as the titans clash. Hinode's purpose is finally revealed and Hark's plan begins to become slightly more apparent. Caught up in the current, those who lack power are pushed and pulled by it. This is meant to serve as the final reminder... the world is set to be turned on its head.

**Taeniaea's Note:** Hayate finally gets to fight! Unfortunately... Hayate's spells consist almost solely of area of effect and bombardment classifications... and given how large in scale they are... she only gets to fire one attack T.T. As for Priri... she's a berserker. Plain and simple.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Eleven: Havoc!**

* * *

><p><strong>Inside the Hospital<strong>

**-Fate Testaross-Harlaown**

Fate was just about to ask Shamal go tend to the wounded when Iri suddenly cried out in pain. Turning, the girl was being covered in snaking black chains of energy, lancing rnadomly away from her like lightning. As she doubled over in pain, Shamal was already there, catching her before she could strike the floor, uncoonscious. Without prompt, the Knight of the Lake began an immediate analaysis, trying to discern what the source of the problem was.

At the side, Ame and Raven stared at Iri, the former in a queer mix between curiosity and confusion, and the latter in bewilderment... stark contrasts to the concern of the others in the room.

'_This... definitely won't end well.'_

**Unknown Location**

**-Priri**

A black lance of power filled the corridor Priri was in, leaving a trail of sparking, thoroughyl dismantled gynoids in its wake. The girl herself looked to the gem mounted over her diaphragm, noting it was glowing a bright yellow. "Here, then."

Priri looked up at the ceiling and, wincing due to the pain of having used so much magic, began the gathering magical energy above her in a concentrated orb.

**Unadminastrated World #42, Ancient Temple Ruins**

**-Hinode**

Hinode ran her hand along the mural in front of her, depicting a chaotic mix of thick black lines and vague figures. _'Whatever this is, it can't be good.'_

A hand grasped her arm, prompting her to turn to Yumeko, who pointed down the hallway. Standing, Hinode followed the girl's fingers to see a figure standing at the other end.

"Tea Lanster." She noted, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Tea, whose barrier jacket was already activated and pistols in hand, didn't look keen on the idea of making small talk., and so she was blunt ant to the point... as Hinode expectted her to be. "You're on leave right now, and this planet is relatively far out of the way of the general populace. You left your only living relative behind to come here, taking a girl you adopted same day that relative was released from hospital care... and the girl in question doesn't exist on any registers on any orphonage in Mid-Childa, or otherwise. I want answers, because you've made yourself pretty suspicious."

Hinode raised a brow internally. All that... and she was only just now recieving attention... from a junior enforcer. It made her wonder... why wasn't Fate here? Wasn't Tea supposed to be directly under her? Still, the girl had a pair of weapons trained on her and, while she could probably beat her fairly easily... she didn't want to add assaulting an officer to the list of charges that were probably being formed right now. "Ask away, I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

"Then let's start simple... why are you here in the first place?"

"Allow me." A new voice cut in, prompting the occupants of the ancient corridor to turn to the side where man in brown robes stood in an alcove. Immediately, they were both on their guard. He wasn't there before. "So hostile." He said, voice laden with false indignation, "...and here I thought I'd go and do you both a favor by explaining that lovely little picture you're so interested in."

"Cut the crap." Hinode said, staring at him with a level glare, "...you're the one behind everything going on back on Mid, aren't you?"

The man smiled beneath his hood, "Sharp, aren't you? Then again, you'd have to be to figure out how to read that wall... and create that little aberration standing next to you."

Both of the young women across from him narrowed their eyes as Yumeko stepped behind Hinode. "What do you mean, aberration?" Tea asked warily as Hinode remained silent. Behind her, Yumeko stepped further out of view.

"Very well, I shall be blunt. That is not a child... I would call it a homunculus, but that would be flattery. It's nothing more than a _walking corpse._" The man seemed to take great joy in his words, though his disdain for the individual in question was equally obvious.

"Walking... corpse?" Tea asked, equally confused and horrified. Hinode's eyes only narrowed further.

"Indeed." The man said, "You see-" He was cut off by a blast of golden energy flying toward his head. Just as it was about to make contact, he vanished and reappeared slightly to the side. "Seems like I've angered the necromancer." He jeered.

"There isn't any kind of trash worse than you." Hinode ground out, flecks of golden energy dancing about her form. "Yumeko is _not_ a walking corpse. She's a living, breathing human being."

"Really?" The man asked rhetorically as Tea looked between the two, trying to decide which was the greater evil. "...why don't you let me cut it open, and then we can find out, eh?"

That did it for Hinode. Within seconds, she was on top of him, right fist sheathed in golden energy and pulled back for a vicious punch to the gut... that Hark caught with ease, lifting her into the air one-handed and tossing her into, and through the wall bearing the mural. As the dust cleared, the man whistled slightly. "Sturdy one, aren't you?"

His response was a trio of golden beams breaking through the last of the dust and impacting into the space he had occupide a moment before. "Aggressive, too." He noted as the enraged Seitsu charged after him, shrouded completely in energy. "...reminds me a lot of someone else I know." He noted, dodging punch after punch.

Next to Yumeko, Tea was left to watch the battle unfold. "...it's like watching Subaru and Fate, almost." She muttered, looking to Yumeko, whose ocean blue eyes were watching the fight earnestly, until they noticed Tea's attention. The girl looked to her expectently then, as if awaiting judgment. For a while, Tea could do nothing but stare.

**-Subaru**

Subaru, Erio, and Caro had just finished escorting all of the patients out of the first floor, and were heading toward the stairs near the room the young ones were located in when the ground behind them suddenly ruptured, raising upwards in a wave of black energy that dissipated soon after. Immediately, the three of them turned around, Caro stepping behind Erio as Freidrich began growling.

From the crater, a girl rose into the air, black energy crackling about her as if possessed of a will of its own. Her eyes, a brilliant violet in color, seemed to glow, standing out in the relative gloom of the corridor as the lights flickered above, in sync with the sound of explosions outside.

**"Move out of the way."** The girl spoke, **"I don't have time for you."** Her voice held such a dark tone to it, it seemed to reverbrate throughout the halls.

"Not happening." Subaru stated, taking a firm stance as Erio mimicked her, his device shifting forms.

**"Then I won't be held responsible for this."** The power crackling around he girl tripled in potency, until she was completely shrouded in it. Erio charged forward ahead of Subaru due to his faster speed... only for his sphere to impact against a barrier, which then detonated, knocking him back across the hall. As he landed, recovering himself, a surge of black energy followed in his wake, pitting itself against a barrier erected by Caro as Subaru began gathering power.

The barrier died down... and the girl was just on the other side of it, a trio of magical seals formed in front of her. Eyes widening slightly, Subaru knocked the other two to the ground as a trio of serpentine collumns of magical power flew past overhead.

**-Hayate**

From her position, hovering above the hospital's fifth floor, Hayate watched the battle unfolding below, creating barriers when it looked like someone needed the extra defense. To be honest, she was getting rather impatient. This battle was taking far too long – the TSAB could surely defend an attack on its capital with greater ease than this. '_Bet the old farts up top are too busy with all the red tape they've left laying around to do their job... and the admiralty can only do so much by itself... not to mention the conflict of interests on their level. What a mess!'_ As another barrage of blasts from Nanoha's Axel Shooter sped by, Hayate received the message she had been waiting for.

_'__Lt. Yagami, the Admiralty just authorized you to release your one of your limiters. One attack only. Make it count... and try not to catch anyone in the cross-fire.'_

'_Good, this was taking too long.'_ Hayate thought, gathering power in front of her, five sigils forming around a large circle. _**'O ye ancient one, great eagle at the end of the world...' **_Several large orbs of white energy formed in front of each sigil, steadily growing larger. '_**...beat thy wings for me...'**_ Hayate allowed them to swell until they had all but merged into a single, massive orb. **'**_**...and tear their ranks asunder!'**_The orb reached a critical mass, its diameter twice Hayate's height.

_"Hræsvelgr_ (Corpse Swallower)_!"_

The TSAB forces engaged in melee with the drones, having been alerted to Hayate's attack by Nanoha, pulled back... and not a moment too soon, either, as five enormous lances of energy shot forward from Hayate's position, tearing into the autonomous antagonists with fierce abbadon. They plunged into the enemy formation, condensing as they grew further in... before exploding in a massive display of power. In the wake of the attack, the front line had been all but cleared.

'_And you say I'm excessive.'_ Nanoha quipped, observing the destruction.

'_The difference between us is that, unlike you, overkill is my only option.'_

'_...touche.'_

The TSAB's forces were quick to take advantage of the momentary peace, pushing outward and securing the area, creating a dimmensional barrier to prevent further damage to the infrastructure of the city. As the world about her took on a strange blue hue, Hayate's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right.

A series of explosions occurred at the checkpoints established by the Armed Forces, confirming her suspicion. '_This isn't over.'_

**-Hinode**

Hinode loosed a seemingly endless chain of attacks at her enemy, who batted the onsluaght aside and generally ignored it, much to her frustration. Punch after punch, kick after kick, and magical attack after magical attack... the robed man seemed to find a way to counter or redirect her blows.

It was frustrating.

...but Hinode was hardly the type to lose out because of irritation.

And so it was the man found himself caught up avoiding her assault. "Alright, I'll admit-" He spoke, catching a punch and tossing Hinode over his shoulder, blocking the blast of energy that followed with a magical shield. "-you're quite impressive. Truly, I admire your tenacity..." Hinode charged him again, and this time she ran headlong into a barrier, which then detonated, sending her back again. "...but I think it's time we end this charade."

_'This bastard!'_ Hinode thought, gathering power in front of her as her opponent held up his arm, six lances of white energy appearing suspended in the air around it. '_**And we mortals quivered in terror...'**_ She chanted mentally.

"Save us both some trouble and just die, won't you?" He called out.

'_**...at our impending doom...'**_

The lances surged forward, extending toward Hinode.

'_**...and ye virtuous paladin did take pity on us...'**_

The lances began swelling in size at the tips.

**'..._and bestowed upon us your life, to shield us.'_**

The lances came up in front of Hinode's outstretched hand... only to disappear, becoming absorbed into a large magical array that formed in front of it. The robed man smiled deviously as Hinode called out the name of the spell. **_"Sacrificial Seal of the Younger God!"_**

"Interesting!" The man exclaimed, almost excited, even as Hinode pulled her fist back. "How far will your knowledge of the past take you?"

_**"Release!"**_

A torrent of golden energy washed over the corridor.

."Tea." Hinode called, "...tell them I'm sorry. You might want to leave the area."

"What do you mean by that?" The junior enforce responded, but if Hinode heard her, the elder Seitsu didn't show it.

Indeed, she was already chanting another spell, even while maintaining the first. It was a tricky spell. Multi-tasking certainly didn't help, but... there was no room for doubt.

"_**All ye mournful spirits, begging for peace, answer my call, that together we perfect this broken world, and empty it of its sorrows."**_

'_Just what is she doing? The amount of energy she's gathering... I can almost _feel_ it weighing down on me.'_

When the air around Hinode began to shimmer and crackle as if electrified, Tea took it as her cue to leave, gathering Yumeko in her arms and fleeing the scene.

The child said nothing, staring at the growing storm with an unreadable expression. As the air behind Hinode began to twist, dust and debris filling it and obscuring the young woman from view, Yumeko closed her eyes, a single tear sliding down her cheek as she was carried away.

A grimace made itself apparent on Hinode's face as the strain of this spell began to take its toll on her. The wave of energy from her previous attack faded away, returning to her as ambient magic began gathering into her body. At the other end of the corridor, the robed man let his arms drop, slightly singed, as his barrier flickered out of existence.

_**"All ye wretched souls, and carrion beings suffering of misery and woe untold; whose voices have long since become parched and silent, bereft of water..."**_

'_That spell!'_ He thought, '_...there's no way she could cast it properly... she'll surely die...'_

_**"...join with me, and together let us sing all those words which your silent lips can no longer utter, all those dreams and memories long since torn away."**_

A grim smile crept across his lips, '_She really means to do it!'_ He teleported several kilometers away, watching the growing maelstrom from afar. '_...let us see just what your descendant is capable of, shall we, Aethis?'_

_**"Let us sing the final aria of your hearts, the lullaby of this wretched planet! Let all those beholders hear as we call out to teh very heavens. Ravage this world and show it the depths of your torment, so all might understand! Finis Carmen! The Song of the End is **_**sung****!"**

The maelstrom of energy was torn loose then, tendrils of pitch-black energy snaking into the sky and through the ruins like hounds set at the hunt. '_And they hunt for me.'_ The man thought, a strange sense of pride welling inside him. '_Let us play at this merry chase then... how long can you maintain this spell, twilight maiden?'_

From afar, Tea watched the eldritch energy as it was set at loose. '_Is she insane? She could cause a dimmensional break with that much energy!'_

In the midst of it, Hinode's mind was set soley on a single task, even as her body began to tear away. That man would die, here and now, before his plans could come to frutition... even if she had to die with him.

Even if her very soul was burned away.

**-Subaru**

Subaru winced as a stinging sensation made itself known, running all down her stiff back. Above her, the attack she'd just taken the brunt of finally dissipated, leaving the air above her clear. Rolling off of her juniors (in age, anway), Subaru was relatively unsurprised to find the girl who attacked them looming overhead, magic crackling about her form like some kind of nightmarish cloak.

**"...just stay here and sleep for a while."**

Without warning, the girl's heel connected sharply with Subaru's temple, and the cyborg winced, vision blackening.

**-Priri**

Turning away from the blue-haired TSAB officer, Priri winced as her magic dissipated, stumbling as she took a step forward. '_...Damn you Hark, making me use up all that energy on my way here.'_

Stubbornly, she shuffled onward down the deserted halls, the gem in her chest glowing steadily brighter, lighting the way as the power was now cut off completely. '_A dimmensional barrier.'_ She noted.

Coming to a stop in front of a door, Priri placed her hand on it. A small burst of power later, and the door fell inward, clacking onto the ground dully.

Beyond, Iri lay beside someone performing some sort of healing ritual on her, crackling with black energy, as a blonde and a red-head stood guard, with two children in the background.

'_Really...'_ Priri thought, looking at the energy crackling about her own hands as they twitched randomly, '_...I should've known. Bastard.'_

And with that, the last of Priri's energy faded, and she fell to the ground limply, as if she were a puppet whose strings had been cut.

'_...how apt, she thought. So close, yet so far... can't keep any promises, can I?'_

Dully, Priri thought that someone might have moved beside her... but everything was so blurry and indestinct she couldn't tell.

'_...really... useless.'_

**-Hark**

Hark whistled appreciatively as the last of the black tendrils of energy dissipated, leaving a narrow ravine in its wake. "Well now," He stated with false humor, clutching his shoulder... or rather, the blackened portion of his side that was once his shoulder. "...that was truly impressive. Almost got me too... almost." He teleported back to the epicenter, and, to his surprise, found Hinode still standing, clutching one arm, head hung downward as the very last remnants of the spell crackled all about her. "...tenacious indeed... how are you still alive, I wonder?" He asked rhetorically, walking up to her as her left leg gave out, sending her to her knees.

Just as she was about to fall forward, he kicked her, causing her to land on her back. Beneath her once-raven hair, now paled to an irrevocable silver, her eyes glowed a bright gold, dully glaring at him, though he knew better than to think she was actually conscious. "Your family, really," He said, snarling, "...just loves messing with me, doesn't it?" He kicked her again, and again... and again as her eyes continued to stare at him, unfocused.

When the clouds finished gathering above, and it began to rain, he let out a grim smile. "No matter. You're incapacitated. You've doomed yourself, and left me free to act without your wretched meddling." He let go of his shoulder, "...the loss of my arm's a bit _irksome_, but workable.

He kicked her one last time. "Goodbye, soul-thief."

And with that, he vanished in a shower of light.

**Chapter End**

The full quote from which the chapter title is derived, for those who don't know, is as follows:

_O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,  
>That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!<br>Thou art the ruins of the noblest man  
>That ever lived in the tide of times.<br>Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!  
>Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,-<br>Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,  
>To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue-<br>A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;  
>Domestic fury and fierce civil strife<br>Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;  
>Blood and destruction shall be so in use<br>And dreadful objects so familiar  
>That mothers shall but smile when they behold<br>Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;  
>All pity choked with custom of fell deeds: As<br>And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,  
>With Ate by his side come hot from hell,<br>Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice  
>Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;<br>That this foul deed shall smell above the earth  
>With carrion men, groaning for burial.<em>

Hraesvelgr was a Norse Giant. He took the form of a giant eagle and sat at the end of the world, making the winds blow when he beat his wings in flight, hince the aria.

Finis Carmen literally means 'End Song' in Latin. As for its function, strength, etc... It's supposed to be a sure-kill spell, but impossible to cast without dying yourself. More than that, it's designed to destroy all life on a given planet and leave it a barren waste bereft of anything save dust and wind. It's a testament to Hinode's skill that she not only survived it (however narrowly), but managed to direct it after a single target... and a testament to Hark's tenacity that he only got _clipped_ by it (losing his right arm in the process).

Aethis is a name based on the word Aether, which can mean Heavanly, depending on interpretation.


	12. Breaking of Chains

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter's Note:** Thanks to anonymous reviewers. Sorry for the delay – had other things to occupy.

**Taeniaea's Note:** Will be busy with Thanksgiving so...

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Twelve: Passing of the Eye**

* * *

><p><strong>Unadministrated Planet #42<strong>

**-Somewhere Underground**

**-Tea Lanster**

Tea winced slightly as she stood, looking upward at the hole in the cieling where it had collapsed, noting that the collapse ran several levels deep in... wherever this place was.

Turning, Tea found the girl she had been carrying was standing as well, relatively unharmed... staring up at the sky through the hole above.

'_No...'_ Tea thought, looking upward again herself, '_...not the sky, the lances of black energy from the spell Hinode cast.'_

"You alright?"

In response, the girl averted her gaze, leveling it upon Tea. The only confirmation Tea got was a simple nod. '_Not that I can blame her.'_

Deciding that the nod would be the best she could get, Tea took in their surroundings.

The tunnel was rather uitilatarian in design, a simple walkway with a narrow, empty canal running alongside it. The ceiling was bare, with the exception of the hole, and the only asethetic part of it that she could see was a mural running along it, much the same as the one in the temple. With nothing else to do, Tea began trying to contact the ship that brought her here, though she doubted she'd have any success.

"Hino-nee is crying." The girl spoke, drawing Tea's attention. "...she failed."

Glancing up at the sky revealed the black streams of energy were no longer present. '_Wonderful.'_

"Then we need to get moving." Tea stated, gathering the girl up again and picking up at a fast-paced jog.

She had no idea where she was going, really, but until she could get through to the ship, it would be better to stay mobile.

The empty corridors seemed to rise up and close around her, haunting her every step.

**Cranaagan**

**-District III Hospital**

**-Fate Testarossa-Harlaown**

An odd silence bfilled the room as the door clattered to the floor, such that for a moment, Fate might have sworn the battle without seemed to pause for a moment. So many thoughts flitted through her head, she didn't immediately register anything past the breaching of the door. That the attacker fell to the ground immediately after entering, or that Signum had moved immediately to intercept them, only to halt... niether was immediately apparent.

Who beat Subaru? Why wasn't there a warning? Why hadn't they relocated to a more secure location? Is that... Ren?

Upon noticing the appearance of the girl who'd forced her way in, laying prone on the ground, surrounded by the same crackling energy that plagued Iri, Fate drew into herself, whitening as if laying eyes on a ghost.

Perhaps she actually had.

Disregarding Signum's inquisitive gaze, Vivio's small gasp of surprise, and the weight of Ame's ever-present stare, Fate surged forward.

**Unadministated Planet #42**

-**Hark**

Appearing in a flash of light at the hole Tea and Yumeko had fallen through, Hark stared bemusedly at the footprints in the dust, and the magical signature growing fainter in the distance.

'_So the little enforcer wants to play cat and mouse, eh?_' He thought as he took off after her, moving at a relatively sedate pace. '_Too bad for you. Maybe the Soul Thief would've stood a chance, but you? You're an ant.'_

**Cranaagan**

**-District III Hospital**

**-Ame**

Am had been admonished once already for pointing out mystic connections between people, so she was hesitant to do it again... but...

She looked from the new arrival's dimming magical signature, to the threads weaving their way away from it, and traced them to their destination – Iri.

This girl's magic was being siphoned off to Iri, and it didn't look like it was a pleasant exchange for either part.

Shamal's magic was trying to interfere, but the other simple dodged around it every turn.

Looking about once more and seeing the concern on Vivio, Fate, and Signum's faces, the concentration on Shamal's, the pain on Iri's, and...

That's an odd expression.

After staring at Raven's queer face, a mix between indifference, concern, confusion, and aggravation, Ame nodded to herself.

'_If I can help...'_

"Fate." Ame spoke, her normally passive tone holding a faint trace of urgency. The blonde's head jerked toward her as Fate honed in one her name, escaping from some drifting train of thought that was probably no more productive than it was relevant.

"Her magic's being transferred to Iri. Shamal's trying to block it, but it's avoiding her."

Ame didn't need to be able to see the faces of those in the room, she could feel their attention riveted on her as if it were some kind of leech, pulling her away from the route she'd decided to take. Cautiously, she continued, "...I think I can help."

A loud explosion sounded off, and the walls of the hospital began to shake.

**-Unknown Location**

**-Tea Lanster**

Tea paused, as Cross Mirage toned, monotonous voice echoing in the corridor.

'Communication with the Earl has failed. Signal is still being blocked or intercepted.'

'_Damn.'_ Tea thought, setting Yumeko down. '_No luck.'_

"...You should leave me behind." The girl spoke, prompting Tea to turn to her, surprised.

"What? Of course I won't! I'll get us both out of this-"

"No. You won't. Hino-nee couldn't beat him, even after... using _that... _please leave, I'll be fine. I promise."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Tea responded, slightly annoyed. '_Since when does the rescuee beg to be left behind?And she's a child!'_

"That's unfortunate." A new voice cut in, "because now you're certainly going to die."

Tea turned, alarmed, just in time to see a trio of white lances of energy sailing toward her, moments from impact...

...and then suddenly she was standing on the other side of the corridor, and Yumeko was falling to the ground, three lances of energy protruding through her small frame.

"Transfer... success." She muttered, breathe coming up short, before she burst apart in a show of golden light, form dissolving into countless balls of energy.

'_...What?'_ Tea thought, staring at the orbs as they sped off, the man standing by the side, arm dropping slowly to his side. '_What just happened?'_

"How cute." The man spoke, voice laden with amusement. "She swapped places with you – poor little doll decided her life ought to be worth something." He turned to Tea, eyes glowing a baleful silver. "Of course, it was, as unnatural as it was. But it was worth _so_ much more..."

Tea saw read. 'Cross Fire Shoot'

The man chuckled mirthlessly as three orange orbs flitted into existance around Tea and launched themselves at him. "Come now," He jeered, batting them away with a hand sheathed in energy, "...did you really think that would work after watching the Soul-Thief try and fail?" A large seal appeared in front of him, and Tea's eyes widened. "My turn."

'_Protect!'_ Cross Miirage cried out.

A massive, silver blast of energy filled the corridor...

...only to ram into a large seal, glowing a contrasting mix of vivid gold and pitch black, sparks of violet energy crackling about it. The man's attack vanished into it, and the barrier disappeared, allowing Tea to see past...

The man was no longer facing her, but instead focusing his attention on a barrier held in front of him... holding back the fist of an absolutely _livid_ looking Seitsu, hair bleached an ashen gray, and eyes glowing the same color as her magic.

...and she was shrouded in the same chaotic mix of gold, black, and violet that the shield had been.

The barrier flared, and Hinode jumped back to the other end of the corridor.

"What are you?" The man cried out, agitated. "Why do you people never _stay __**down?**_"

The mage across from him didn't respond immediately, clutching her side in pain as several magical seals the size of her head opened up about her. "You killed her..." A beam of energy shot out from each seal, streaking toward the man as he threw up another barrier."...I'm not stopping... until you're gone. May we both... rot in hell."

The barrier flared again, and the beams of light were deflected into the walls of the corridor, leaving small craters all about as Hinode floated into the air, an even larger seal developing in front of her.

"You're mad! If you keep at this, you'll actually die!"

"Radiant Collumn."

A beam of energy large enough to partially obscure Hinode from sight sprang forth from the seal, washing over the robed man's barrier. When it cleared, the only sign he was ever there was a small gathering of white particles, drifting to the ground.

Tea turned her attention from the man to Hinode, rushing over immediately when she saw her about to collapse.

Not a moment after Tea braced her, the eldest Seitsu fell limp, eyes staring vacantly as Tea recoild slightly at how deathly cold she felt.

"Hiru..." She gasped out before Tea had to support all of her weight.

'_...__Tea... Teanna Lanster, are you there?'_ Came the voice of the _Earl_'s communications officer.

Tea's response was slow in coming, as she stared at the unconscious young woman in her arms.

**A short time before Yumeko's death.**

**-Fate**

Fate looked between Ame, the girl in front of her, and Iri. "How?"

"Shamal's magic is being avoided so easily because she's searching around in the dark – she can't see her target, only sense it. I can _see_ it, though."

Fate and Signum gazed at each other for a few moments, before Signum nodded.

'_Hopefully this doesn't backfire._' "...Alright. You can try, but be careful."

Ame nodded, before closing her eyes and extending her hands in the posture Shamal was using. A few moments later she was shrouded in a faint aura of azure energy.

All that was left for the others, then, was to wait.

"If she gets harmed doing this, in any way, Hayate's not going to be very happy." Signum stated matter-of-factly.

Fate sighed, "I know."

**-Priri**

Pri found herself in the same room she always did when she dreamt - a simple affair with pale violet bordering and white wallpaper, a dresser and mirror on one side beside the door, and a bed on the other.

But today, the room was dark – the window which let light into it was shuttered.

It felt so very cold.

'_It figures,'_ She thought, '_that this room would be my limbo.'_

That was then that the mirror on the wall began to glow a brilliant gold, bringing with it a sense of warmth that drew Priri from her thoughts.

'_What moment has come to taunt me today, I wonder?'_ She thought, staring at the mirror.

**End Chapter**


	13. Breaking of Chains 2

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter:**Sorry for the delay...

**Taeniaea: **...there were so many things that kept us distracted that we couldn't seem to get anything out T.T

**Rimshooter:** Too bad we couldn't crank out more.

**Taeniaea:** I wanted to put in more, but...

**Rimshooter:** I figured that the current cut-off point would make a better ending for this chapter. Besides, this is the second part of Breaking of Chains, so it kind of works out in the end.

**Taeniaea:** We kept trying to add Nanoha's part in, but writing about Nanoha blowing up mindless drones repeatedly didn't seem to flow very well. As an apology, there's a brief OMAKE at the end.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Past to Present Thirteen:** Breaking of Chains 2

* * *

><p><strong>-Tea Lanster<strong>

When Tea entered the infirmary after delivering her verbal report (which was unnecessarily long – there wasn't much to tell, only conjecture and recap), she half-expected to find the eldest Seitsu dead.

Fortunately for her nerves, this wasn't the case, though the comatose mage was linked to roughly the amount of monitors she'd guessed. There was only one medical officer on duty at a time... and only four on-board, so it wasn't too surprising that there was only one other person in the room.

"Enforcer Lanster." The medical officer intoned as she entered, eyes firmly in place on the readouts in front of them.

Teana knew many of the ship's crew by now, but she hadn't visited the infirmary very often, or for very long, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that she didn't know the officer by name. Most likely, he had been briefed about the circumstances behind Hinode's arrival. "...how is she?"

"Short answer?" The medical officer asked rhetorically, "...Bad. Very bad... she'll live, but..."

"...but?"

The officer turned from the screen, "...she's strained her linker core far past its limits – I'm surprised she's even alive, to be honest. She should be dead... I don't think she'll be returning to duty anytime soon, potential charges notwithstanding – she'll be lucky to have regained full motor skills by the end of this decade."

'_...like Nanoha... except Nanoha was able to make a near-full recovery in at least a quarter that time... maybe less. Just what was she trying to achieve, being so reckless?'_

**-Secele**

Secele took in the scene before her, face a mask of steel.

Pink beams of energy rained from the sky – testaments to Nanoha's efforts to thin the numbers of the forces Hark sent. Other various spells flew from the other TSAB forces more sporadically, peppering the world with light as the drones' mass weapons tore through the shields of those mages foolish enough to rely on their magic alone.

Oh, there was a reason mass weapons were banned in TSAB space...

_'If Takamachi-san is distracted, the Bureau forces below will be overrun with ease... but...'_ Secele glanced to Destiny's mask, red visor reflecting the light of the battle ominously. '_That's not our objective... and I'm not going to be the one to tip the tides unless I have to...'_

"We're going to blow through the battlefield." She stated, "...we should be able to mask our presence fairly well – worst comes to worse you can teleport me away."

Destiny simply nodded, arm-blade extending and becoming sheathed in a bloody-red aura.

'_...Caretaker... more like watchdog.'_

A white seal appeared below Secele. '_...here we go.'_

She vanished in a flash of white light, Destiny flickering out of existence behind her.

**-Ame**

Something had gone irrevocably, terribly wrong.

Ame was well aware she had little idea what she was doing; however it was fairly easy to see what Shamal had been trying to do and emulate it, using her sight to grasp hold of Priri's magic. What to do from there, however, Ame didn't know.

She didn't get a chance to find out either, when suddenly the room exploded with magic – golden energy and white energy coming from a place unknown and clashing with each-other. Both energies wrapped around Priri's, tossing it back and forth wildly in a chaotic battle of tug-of-war. It was all Ame could do to avoid getting caught up in the tides.

To Ame, it was as if the world was on fire. Magic was swirling all about the room in thick clusters. Stray tendrils danced to and fro chaotically as the two powers quarreled over Priri's magic before, suddenly, they all stopped. For a brief moment, they seemed to hang in place.

Ame blinked, eyes burning and watering from the strain of watching the maelstrom, when the two forces resumed their struggle anew. The two forces clashed directly, wrapping around Priri's form, before Priri's magic lashed out in response. There was a flash of light, and a distinct feeling of being thrown.

After that, darkness.

**-Signum**

Signum winced as a sharp pain began to spread across her back. She'd just turned away from the door, feeling a buildupg of magical energy behind her, when there was a sudden explosion, knocking everything not bolted down into the nearest wall. It had caught her completely by surprise – something that irked her pride to no end. Standing, Signum called to Laevatein. The fiery sword materialized immediately at her behest, and Signum turned her attention to the other occupants of the room.

Fate was directly across from her, a shaky barrier flickering in front of her. Between them was Priri's prone form, faintly steaming and surrounded by random crackles of white, gold, and black energy. Shamal was beside her, surrounded by a faintly glowing barrier that had shielded her... unharmed, but unconscious. To the left, one could see Ame laying on top of Vivio in the corner – the former unconscious while the latter held a concerned expression. Along that wall and toward the center, Iri and Raven were in a similar state as Ame and Vivio, though Raven didn't really hold much of anything in her expression; her empty, blue eyes were as enigmatic as ever. Thankfully, the energy that had surrounded Iri had dissipated.

"Fate..." Signum began, but she was cut off by the sound of someone's footsteps behind her.

"You've other things to worry about." A voice came from behind, and Signum turned, Laevatein already batting aside an oncoming strike, only for a sudden force to push Signum back.

Before her was a man in a tattered white robe, a tan mantle with hood hiding most of his face – a blank white mask the only thing visible beneath it. A pale white aura shone around his extended palm... his _only_ palm, Signum noted.

His entire right arm was gone.

"Impressive as that was... you're sadly mistaken if you believe it will suffice." The man spoke, waving his solitary arm tauntingly.

Without warning, a stream of fire surged forward from the back of the room, obscuring the man from view temporarily and drawing the two aces' attention to the back of the room, where Raven was standing, enshrouded by an ominous orange aura. Her red, accusatory gaze was focused solely on the the man in the robe, who'd extinguished the flames in front of him already.

"Want to play, do you, little one?" He spoke mockingly.

Raven's brow twitched slightly, before another, even larger wave of fire threatened to consume the room. _"Teri, __**maelif**__!"_

"That wasn't very nice." The man jeered as the flames dissipated again, revealing empty space. Raven, eyes widening turned, hand ablaze, only for him to swat it away, lone palm returning to strike her across the forehead. A seal flickered into place on her brow as she fell to the ground, glaring up at him as her eyes slid shut. Turning, the man rose his arm and a large white barrier appeared before him, repelling a combined attack from Fate and Signum, sending them both back several feet. A series of chains sprung from the barrier afterward, catching them in a band as Hark turned to survey the unconscious children around him, pausing slightly after spotting Vivio, who looked torn between protecting Ame and attacking him, before looking to Iri.

He reached down, grabbing the girl by the neck when an enraged shout filled the room, and he dropped her in shock, stepping back just in time to avoid a blow that left a sizable hole in the wall it struck.

Priri was awake.

"Completely unprecedented." He muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately Priri seemed to hear him, and already a glowing black fist was in motion, ready to take his head off... or any other part of him, really. The girl looked to be out for blood.

**Sometime before Hark's intrusion.**

**-Priri**

_Priri was no longer in the empty room; it had vanished with the mirror's glow._

_Now, she had no idea where she was. All around her was a fine gray mist, out of which rose countless columns._

_She'd been exploring this place for some time now, discontent to sit and wait for something to happen. Unfortunately, all she learned was that her surroundings were as consistent as the mist was murky._

_Already, she was tired – strange enough as is, given her stamina – and already, she was getting sick of seeing the same scenery, no matter which direction she went. Weary, and ready to simply wake up and give up on this taunting dream, Priri began to let herself fade into the mist._

_It was then that she heard a voice, echoing throughout the chamber._

"Why give up?"

"_Why not?" She shot back, sounding nowhere near as sharp as she'd like._

"Well," it said, "...you've tried so hard, for so long, already. You're just going to give up that easily?"

_Priri scowled, her magic eagerly reaching out of her linker core with the darkening of her mood, "So? It's just a giant maze of columns and mist."_

"How do you know? Have you explored every nook and cranny? Marked every column? Climbed one? Seen all there is to see?"

_Priri blinked, wondering at the familiar tone the voice had, before shaking her head irritably. **Everything** in her dreams seemed familiar, so that was nothing new._

"_No, I haven't. It'd be a waste of time to try."_

"...that never stopped you before, did it? Waste? What a joke. No effort unabandoned ever goes to waste."

_Priri's eyes widened as she turned to the sound of the voice._

_The mist rolled back, revealing an endless grassy expanse filled with overgrown columns. The sky, a brilliant azure that Priri had yet to see outside her dreams, was free of clouds and lit by a brightly shining sun._

"_You like saying that a lot, right?" Priri turned again to see the white silhouette of a person sitting atop one of the columns. Before the girl could say anything, the figure jumped off the column, stretching after hitting the ground. "You should try living up to your words."_

"_Easier said than done." Priri replied as her magic faded._

_The figure tilted its head, and Priri got the impression it was smiling. "Nothing worth doing is easy – you like that one too." As Priri scowled again, it clapped its hands "You can keep take that attitude all you want, life's not going to wait for you." When the girl across from it didn't respond, it sighed. "Well, fine, be that way... wallow in self-pity and give up while the only thing left to tie you to this world is destroyed, just like you were."_

_Priri blinked as the field began withering and dying, **"What did you just say?" **She exclaimed, but the figure simply shook its head, vanishing into the air._

"You don't need me to spell it out for you – just hurry up and go already!"_ The voice replied, and Priri felt herself waking up._

"Be sure to hit him where it hurts, too."_ It added, just before Priri woke up._

_When she opened her eyes, it was to see Hark holding Iri by the neck._

_After that, darkness._

Hark stepped out of range of Priri's punch, a ball of power forming in his right hand before firing at the enraged girl point blank... only for her to simply punch through it, and hit empty air as Hark teleported out of the way.

As he rematerialized behind her, the girl turned with a magical bolt of her own charged.

The man barely had time to widen his eyes in surprise before the magical projectile hit his solar plexus with the force of a small car, sending him flying to the other end of the room and through the wall.

Priri wasted no time in following, jumping into the opening after him, only to be caught by the neck as an arm came from the falling dust.

"Well, well... what do we have here?" Hark's mocking voice came as he held the struggling girl. "Little puppet finally decided she wants to be a real girl?"

In response, Priri's right foot struck out sharply toward Hark's nether regions... but it barely moved an inch before Priri was suddenly slammed into the side of the wall, still being held by the arm.

"Touchy..." The man jeered, before slamming Priri into the wall again and tossing her across the room. "It looks like the _heroes_ are about to wake up, so I'll have to be leaving now." He said, spitting out the word heroes with such disdain one might have thought he was swearing.

Priri's response was another blast of energy, which only served to hasten Hark's departure as it hit empty space.

"Bastard." The girl whispered, the black shroud around her receding to reveal numerous bruises and burns. Glancing over to Iri's still form, Priri consoled herself with the fact that Iri was mostly unharmed; never-mind that she felt like she was half-dead.

"_Nice job, imouto-chan!"_ The voice whispered in her ear as her vision dimmed.

'_Imouto?'_ She thought, confused, before everything was black once more.

**-Secele**

"They won." Secele noted from her position among the debris, a fair distance from the front-lines, holding a barrier in front of her. Destiny didn't respond, pulling her sword from its place in its opponent's gut, prompting them so fall to the ground. "...such camaraderie." The mage-archer continued.

"Her series wasn't made for its compassion." A new, familiar voice intoned as Hark materialized behind them. "They were made for their persistence to duty." He finished, casting a scornful glance to the beaten body nearby. "Unlike their predecessor, here."

He turned back toward the two nearby, "Come, then. We've other things to do."

The two nodded, vanishing alongside Hark.

On the ground, beaten and tossed aside like a rag-doll, Eternity's dull, blank eyes stared listlessly at the sky, the gaping hole in her chest slowly knitting itself back together.

**o.O.o**

**OMAKE: Nanoha's Luck**

As the last of the drones was beaten back, Nanoha couldn't help but think that they'd somehow lost this fight.

Still, the hospital was...

...not exactly in the best of conditions.

The building's windows were almost wholly shattered – the front wall showing numerous holes and craters, still tinging with smoke. '_When did the barrier drop, and how did that much damage get by?'_ Nanoha thought, eye twitching. It was a miracle the place was still standing.

"Hey Nanoha, is it just me or does everything blow up whenever we get into a fight?" Hayate questioned as she floated up toward her companion, a light note of humor in her voice.

Nanoha's eye began twitching even more as the front entry-way collapsed entirely.


	14. Broken Reflections

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Taeniaea:** Hark's true name is revealed.

**Rimshooter:** Mwahahaha. When you have trouble reading, remove the redundant letters... we'll post a translation at the bottom.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Chapter XIV**: Broken Reflection

* * *

><p><em>The sky was a chaotic mix of ink-black darkness and solid white all being drawn together to a point.<em>

_Black lightning crackled about, striking anything and everything at random, incinerating all it touched without so much as a thunder-call as apology._

_She was impaled upon a large, jagged stone protrusion that jutted from the ground in what was once a city-street. He was in front of her, floating in the air – silver magic extending from his back in cruel parody of an angel's wings. Laying all about were corpses, features indistinguishable; so numerous their faces were all lost. A tear fell down her cheek, stained red by blood as her eyes narrowed in a furious glare._

_It was maddening._

_She had failed._

_He succeeded._

_The world had paid the price._

* * *

><p><strong>May 3 077; 1400 Hours<strong>

**-District III, Seitsu Residence**

**-Hinode Seitsu**

"Hino-nee!" A voice called out, and Hinode turned sharply, placing the project she was working on beneath her desk. Ren was standing in her doorway, a bright smile on her face, "What're you working on?"

"Nothing in particular." Hinode replied, standing. It wouldn't do for the twins to find out about the surprise gift she had planned for them, after all. A sharp ache came to Hinode's forehead, prompting her to rub her temple slightly. "Did you need something?" She asked, trying to focus on the girl in front of her and not-

_**Blood. A deep red stain seeping outward, staining the girl's white dress as she was tossed to the side, eyes wide and-**_

"-ay, Hino-nee?" Ren's voice came, and Hinode blinked. The headache had passed, but she was leaning against her desk. Straightening, Hinode nodded reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. More importantly, why'd you come up here?"

The girl eyed Hinode doubtfully before replying, "It's time to go pick up Iri, remember?" Hinode nodded, how could she have forgotten; maybe Ren was right, and she did put too much effort into her projects.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten? Let's go."

The girl continued to stare at her concernedly before turning, "Alright."

As Hinode followed Ren down the stairs and to the hall, her head throbbed again. There was no vision this time, but a searing pain and tremendous ringing replaced it, voices echoing in her ear.

"_Hino-nee!"_

The eldest Seitsu jerked back, blinking rapidly and glancing about to assure her everything was fine. Ren was opening the door. The hall was normal. The wall were normal. There wasn't anything out of place...

So why was she so worried?

Hinode was brought from her reverie by Ren's impatient shout, "Hurry up, Hino-nee!"

"I'm coming!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The screech of tires.<strong>_

_**A loud thud – an explosion.**_

_**Screams.**_

_**Red on a gray surface.**_

_**A large, archaic door that lead nowhere.**_

_**A tall, ominous tower that sucked away all light.**_

* * *

><p><strong>May 13 077; 1100 Hours<strong>

**-District III Hospital**

**-Hinode Seitsu**

"Hino-nee!" A voice called, and Hinode smiled slightly, seeing Ren's injured, cast-ridden form still full of joy.

"Ren." Hinode replied simply, stepping into the room, one hand behind her. "I've got a present for you." She said, trying to sound cheerful and mischievous.

"What is it?" The girl asked brightly, and Hinode wondered at her implacable happiness.

Instead of speaking an answer, however, she brought her hand around and tossed something to Ren, who caught it with her single, free arm deftly, staring at it curiously.

"Devices?" She asked, and Hinode nodded, "Why two? I only need one – you should give the other to Iri."

Catching the device as Ren tossed it back, Hinode fought back some tears. "Yeah, you're right... She needs it more, after all."

Ren nodded self-affirmatively, "Great! With its help, we can probably figure out what she's having so much trouble with."

'_She was 'having trouble' because she didn't want to surpass you.'_ Hinode thought to herself sadly, '_She didn't want to leave you behind.'_

"You still need to name them." Hinode spoke, "Iri's... terrible at naming things; we both know it."

_**A body laying broken on the pavement.**_

_**A girl's eyes, wide with shock.**_

_**Sirens.**_

Something flickered in Ren's eyes for a second, but it was gone just as quickly before Hinode could identify it-

"_**Severe trauma. She'll survive, thanks to her sister, but..."**_

"-You're right." Ren agreed, interrupting Hinode's musing.

_'It's like it never happened.'_ The eldest Seitsu noted as Ren brought her free hand up to her chin as she thought.

Suddenly, Ren's face blossomed into a smile, "I know! We'll name mine _hope_, and Iri's _memory_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Snow falling from a red sky.<strong>_

_**Panic.**_

_**Gunfire.**_

_**An empty hospital bed.**_

_**A broken window.**_

_**Blood.**_

_**Tears.**_

_**A girl with azure hair...**_

_**Destruction.**_

* * *

><p><strong>May 13 077; 1500 Hours<strong>

**Ruins of Cranaagan**

**-Hinode Seitsu**

"It's a shame, I must admit," The man's voice came, somehow projecting itself over the roar of their surroundings as the world was torn asunder. "Such potential this planet had. So much potential... but alas, it was the only place that would work."

Her limbs felt like they were on fire; her chest was ready to burst. The taste and smell of copper filled her senses; her head was a heavy lead weight. An immense pain festered in her gut.

"Oh don't be upset – you should be proud! You've managed to live long enough to witness this, after all. Something no one has ever had the hope of even _dreaming_ of seeing for millennia... the death of a world, and the opening of the Gate." He rambled, staring into the tumultuous sky with a feverish sort of joy, "At last, after so long..." He whispered, before exclaiming once more, "Be amazed – you gaze upon the door to Heaven!"

Her neck was weak, just as the rest of her, but she forced her head up anyway, glaring at the man as fiercely as one could glare... fierce enough that he actually noticed, turning around – a grim smile visible through the broken lower half of his mask. "Such vigor. I wonder how you _are_ alive right now, hm? You've exhausted your mane completely, strained your muscles to their limites, broken several bones, and you're being held up by a _spire of earth protruding from your lower abdomen!_ Really, your endurance is commendable."

Her hand rose from its limp position, a single finger raising up in defiance.

The earth shook as a monolithic tower phased into view.

"_**You bastard!"**_ A voice shouted, echoing all about, **_"NoTt agGaIin! I dOn't wWamT To diIe aGaiNn!"_**

The man turned around, smile turning into a frown as a large black mass filled the air in front of him. Before he could react, a plethora of obsidian chains shot out from the mass, several striking him and binding him down as the rest extended into the distance.

The shape solidified into the black silhouette of an armored being with large black wings, feathers drifting down constantly as its golden eyes glowered down at the man's prone form. "Y-you... abomination." The man gasped out, "how _dare_ you s-show yourself now? G-give it back! T-that's n-not your life!"

A mirthless chuckle erupted from the being's armor, echoing hollowly about the ruined street. **"NnoTt MyY liFe? HhaRp, yYou pPooRr, dDelLudedD FoOl..." **

Its eyes narrowed as an enormous black scythe materialized behind it and rotating to hover over Harp like a guillotine waiting to drop. **"ItT was _AlWaYs My Life. AnD nNow YOU wwant to take it?_"**

The scythe fell.

The man closed his eyes in preparation for his death...

...only for it not to come.

The man opened his eyes to see a flickering barrier above him, crackling wildly with violet and black energy.

"T-that's... m-my kill." Hinode muttered weakly from the other side of the clearing, her vision darkening as the being withdrew the scythe, crossing its arms. "M-m... my f-fam-ly... my r-re-ven-ge..."

The barrier vanished, and the being dispelled the scythe completely.

"Fine, then. This world is doomed, anyway, and me with it... I'll give you... one chance. Win... this time." The scythe reappeared, "...oOR yOu as WeLl."

The man scoffed, "A-as if... this... could ever win..."

"**I HhOpe She dDoesn't."** The being replied mockingly, **"I'I'd sSimply LoOVeE to ShAre My EtTernal ToOrRmmEnT."**

"You... do not... frighten me... abomination."

"**Hmph."** It grunted, the shadows melting away as its armor began to glow with silver energy, the wings becoming a vibrant white, "_You've... never feared anything, have you, Harp? Maybe... you should have."_

As the man's expression turned to one of shock, the being raised its hand and spoke a single world.

"_Restoration."_

Before Hinode's eyes, buildings reconstructed themselves, the dead came back to life. The sky returned to normal, and the sun began rising and setting west to east in fast forward. As Hinode's wounds healed and her vision darkened, the being's voice echoed in her ear.

"_I hope you succeed... but I also hope... no, that would be asking too much of you. There's not enough left... to do this again, so make this chance count."_

* * *

><p><strong>May 29 077; 0600 Hours<strong>

**-Infirmary of the _Earl_**

Gold eyes opened to the blurry, indistinct sight of a bland, white ceiling.

"So sleeping beauty finally wakes up." A voice commented, and Hinode tried to turn her head to face it, but she couldn't move. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't feel anything below her chin.

'_Why am I alive? Did that... thing... keep me alive so I could make one last ditch effort at killing _him_? But I didn't... does that mean_' Her eyes widened, and in a furious burst she managed to flip one arm over to lay across her chest. '_...I can't move!'_

"Yare yare, what's with mages lately?' The voice came again as a man in a doctor's coat walked over, picking Hinode's arm up and placing it back at her side. "I'm not even going to bother asking how it was even physically possible for you to do what you just did, let alone whatever it was that led you to be in this predicament. That's not my job. Instead, I'll ask this; how're you feeling?"

Hinode's eye twitched. "I come into your infirmary severely injured and you have the gall to ask how I'm feeling? Where's Yumeko?"

The man didn't respond, averting his gaze.

Hinode exploded, magic coming unbidden from her core and sheathing her in a brilliant gold and violet aura... before receding in a series of small electric bursts as Hinode's form quivered in pain. '_Gah! That _bastard!'

"Woah now..." The man spoke, "Watch it – your Linker Core is almost nonexistant. That's how much you exhausted it. I'm honestly surprised you're alive right now, let alone awake."

The eldest Seitsu took his words to heart, calming herself. '_I guess I should be grateful to whatever allowed me to live... but that _BASTARD!' She ranted internally, '_How dare he kill Yumeko! How _darei_ he get out of this with just losing an arm when I threw out enough o crack a planet in half and almost killed myself in the process!'_

She continued to rant for a while after that, the doctor knowing better than to interrupt her (or, rather, completely misinterpreting her silence).

"How far from Mid-Childa are we?" She asked sudddenly, catching the man off-guard.

"...about an hour, why?"

"Has anything happened recently that you've been informed of?"

"No... not that I know of, why? Do you know something?"

Hinode silenced herself after that. Desperate as she was for information, she'd rather not reveal everything she knew.

She knew how to take an interrogation. There was no reason to give anything out for free.

"Where's Agent Lanster?"

The man smiled nervously. That expression didn't bode well.

"She's in her quarters, as far as I know..."

"Tell her I'm not talking to anyone but her." Hinode spoke, and the man nodded hesitantly, walking over to a nearby terminal.

"I mean that, by the way." Hinode continuied, eyes glowing eerily, "Until then... how about some cards?"

"But you wouldn't be able to hold your hand..."

"Don't worry about that."

* * *

><p><strong>-Hark's Facility, Training Area<strong>

**-Secele**

Destiny flickered out of view, appearing a few feet away as she dodged yet another blast of white energy.

Secele materialized behind her, already releasing her next arrow.

The gynoid teleported behind her, arm blade reaching down, only to be deflected as Secele turned to parry it, her bow transforming into a simple broadsword.

Destiny dodged, appearing behind Secele, and the archer reversed the grip of her sword, stabbing behind her and prompting Destiny to step out of range, teleporting a few feet away as Secele turned, fluidly initiating another attack even as Destiny escaped.

"_**What's wrong doll-chan, can't hit the puppet?"**_ A familiar voice taunted, and Secele launched the sword from her grip, turning it into an impromptu projectile.

Her opponent dodged, of course, appearing in front of her with weapon swinging down, only to be bound by a series of white chains as Secele vanished, appearing elsewhere.

The chains detonated – an explosion of magical energy obscured Destiny from view.

When the explosion cleared, there was nothing there.

Eyes widening slighly, Secele threw herself forward. A blade swept through the air where her neck was a few moments ago, the own appearing moments afterward as Destiny continued after Secele. Rolling away from another attack, Secele teleported above the gynoid, bow in hand, and let loose another arrow.

...that Destiny dodged, again.

"_**Are you getting frustrated yet? Want me to help you along?"**_ The voice jeered again.

'_Shut up already! You're not even here!'_ Secele thought, well and truly irritated by the incessant voice.

Destiny used the opportunity to strike Secele across the back of the head with the flat of her blade, sending the archer flying across the arena.

When Secele opened her eyes after momentarily being stunned, it was to see a familiar face with purple eyes and irritating smirk.

The apparition disappeared as Secele flew through it, revealing the upcoming wall of the arena.

Eyes wide, the archer teleported away from the wall to the opposite corner of the room, where she continued to fall until she corrected herself. Destiny appeared across from her, impassive mask staring at her.

"_**You know, your past isn't all you are. You should stop chasing it already; it's not getting you anywhere."**_

Secele sent a random blast of white energy off to the side, dispelling the apparition as it appeared again.

Dispelling her bow, the archer turned abruptly and left the training area."I know." She muttered, "I _know_ damn it."

_'You're gone! You already got what you wanted; you're no longer part of this set up! Why can't you leave me alone already!'_ She thought, agitated.

The apparition had no reply, simply hovering over her shoulder with its ever-present smirk in place.

* * *

><p><strong>0700 Hours<strong>

**-District IV Hospital**

**-Nanoha Takamachi**

'_This has to be one of the top ten quietest rooms I've ever been in.'_ Nanoha thought, perturbed.

Fate and Vivio were both present, along with Signum and Shamal, who was currently glued to the terminal off to the side.

In the beds across from them were Iri, Ame, Raven, and the girl that looked so much like Iri (the name of which they still didn't know).

No one was saying anything. Not even Vivio.

It was maddening.

But at the same time, it didn't feel appropriate to say anything.

Of course, just when Nanoha couldn't take it anymore, the girl that had apparently caused all these problems opened her eyes.

The entire room tensed as the girl sat up, looking about the room with an unnerving sort of as her eyes settled on Iri. Turning from the prone girl she resembled so much to look at the various individuals nearby, she seemed to make some sort of internal calculation before promptly allowing herself to fall back down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

Somehow, Nanoha was expecting more.

'_Then again'_ The ace of aces thought, glancing at Fate's unnaturally stiff form, '_perhaps that's for the best.'_

Another uneasy silence settled upon the room... until Vivio broke it.

"What's your name?" The girl asked brightly, prompting Priri's gaze to shift from the ceiling to her.

'_She would ask...'_ Nanoha thought, bemused.

"Priri." The girl answered after several moments of deliberation. "Why am I here?"

At that Vivio shrugged, "You're hurt aren't you?"

"Is it standard policy to place suspicious individuals in the same room as their targets, then?" Priri asked dryly.

"No." Shamal answered, eyes on her terminal, "It's not, but Fate wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt rather than lock you up in the high-security ward."

"I see." Priri said, turning her attention to the ruby-eyed enforcer. "Why?"

'_She's probably having flashbacks...'_ Nanoha mused. It was obvious Fate was hurting. And Nanoha knew she couldn't d anything about it... rather, that she shouldn't do anything about it.

It was something her friend had to do on her own – that she _wanted_ to do on her own. That was also obvious.

It didn't make it any less frustrating, though.

The two stared at each other for a while, Fate probably trying to figure out what to say, and Priri waiting for Fate's response.

'_Wonder how she could tell which one was Fate...' _Nanoha wondered, '_...then again, considering how well known we are...'_

"...you're not on his side." The enforcer spoke, finally answering Priri's question. "Whatever your situation is, you're not with him... that much is obvious."

Priri raised a brow, "How do you know for sure? Aren't you supposed to be more cautious than this?"

"That expression in your eyes..." Fate responded, "...I've seen it before. You couldn't stand the thought of him doing whatever he planned on doing with Iri... could you? I don't know why, but... I have my suspicions..." The girl didn't respond, averting her gaze as Fate continued. "...you have a connection to her, don't you? You'd do anything for her, right? No matter what it was."

Priri snorted, eyes firmly plastered to the wall, "And how would you know?"

"...I was the same way, once." The blonde answered simply, before looking to Vivio and Nanoha and back, "I suppose I still am, in a way."

The room was silent for a while, save for the steady beat of various medical devices as they worked tirelessly at their tasks, until Priri broke the silence. "There's no connection." she said, turning, "I thought there was... but... it was a lie. I'm sure."

"Are you?" Fate asked quietly, "Truly?"

Priri didn't respond immediately, thinking deeply. "...No, but it doesn't matter."

"Why?"

The girl smiled sarcastically, "Iri and I were just a side show, after all. I don't have a use anymore... I'm a liability. _He_ doesn't tolerate liabilities."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fate asked, but Priri didn't respond, motioning toward Shamal and prompting the enforcer to turn to the doctor for answers.

"...She's an artificial mage." Shamal responded as her terminal finished displaying its readings, "...a flawed one, at that."

Fate's eyes widened slightly, and Nanoha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Flawed how?" The brunette asked, and Shamal's answer as simple.

"She's dying."

Any further conversation was cut off as the room was filled with azure light.

"I told you we were just a side show..." Priri's voice came, barely audible over the sudden shriek that filled the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Indeterminate<strong>

**-Unknown Location**

**-Ame Yagami**

Wherever Ame was, she didn't like it.

It was too dark. Too vague, as if nothing could decide if it was solid or intangible.

Currently, she was standing on a large circular platform, surrounded by pillars covered in eerily glowing runes.

Above, a dimly visible stained glass window provided the small light she was using to see with, as there was no magic here for some reason, and in front of her...

It was the larges door she had ever seen, covered in thick, glowing chains that were held together by a series of eight padlocks.

Two of those were already open, their accompanying chains hanging limp, and before her eyes another one was slowly inching open.

Wherever she was, she wanted to go home. She wanted to see Hayate and the others again.

She wanted to go back to sleep, and dream something better than this.

She took a step... and then the floor suddenly decided that it was made of air, and she fell...

...and then she _really_ wanted to go home.

* * *

><p>Translations, in order of their appearance.<p>

"_**Not again! I don't want to die again!"**_

"**Not my life? Harp, you poor _deluded_ fool..."**

"**...it was _always_ my life! Now _you_ want to take it away?"**

"**...or you, as well_._"**

"**I hope she doesn't."** **"I'd simply love to share my eternal torment."**


	15. Event Horizon

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Taeniaea:** And we head toward this arc's conclusion.

**Rimshooter:** The event horizon. The invisible point of a black hole beyond which light can never escape. The literal sign at the path to Virgil's hell saying, 'Abandon all hope all ye who enter here.'

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Chapter XV**: Event Horizon

* * *

><p><strong>Time Indeterminate<strong>

**-Unknown Location**

**-Ame Yagami**

Smoke. Fire.

It was everywhere.

People ran panicked through the streets, pursued by armored soldiers on horseback.

Screams.

It was a slaughter, and she couldn't do anything.

Her magic was useless; she couldn't even lift a finger, let alone anything else.

Blood.

**'_Where is everyone?'_**

She closed her eyes...

...and opened them to find everyone else was dead.

**'_Why isn't anyone doing anything?'_**

The buildings had all fallen – the soldiers all fled. The night was filled with corpses.

The fires burned everything, consuming everything.

She was pinned – surrounded by rubble.

_'Someone save me!'_ She cried, voice producing no sound.

The fires surrounded her...

...and then someone took her hand.

'_Hayate?'_

* * *

><p><strong>The Distant Past; Year 1234 of the Forgotten Calendar<strong>

**-Planet of Aristin, Craesul; Near Village of Heron in the Southern Plains**

**-Sophia**

The sun was warm that day, as it always was during this season. It was all light, falling freely from the sky with no clouds to hinder it, as if to dispel the sorrow's of the land and rejuvenate it.

From her place, leaning against a lonely tree perched atop one of many rolling hills, she watched the sea of grass and wildflower's dance in the wind. Much like people, they were – always leaning this way or that way, bending to nature's whims... struggling just to stay rooted in place.

Oh, it was a lovely scene – the reason she was here – but it was a scene she'd seen many times before.

Like people, the flora never changed.

Like people, the flowers simply bent with the winds.

"Sopnia!" A voice called, as it had many times before.

She turned, spying a weathered old woman at the base of the hill, bent on one end and leaning on a rough cane. "Yes Mother Elora?"

"Come down from there, you've still chores to finish at the orphanage!"

She stood, a gracious smile plastered on her face. A hideous thing, no more true to itself than the girl wearing it... though no one seemed to tell.

"Of course, Mother Elora." She said, walking down the hill.

What else was she to do, after all, but bend to the winds as she always had?

* * *

><p><strong>Just after Ame's Fit<strong>

**-District IV Hospital**

**-Shamal Yagami**

The room had fallen into uneasy silence as Shamal worked furiously at her terminal, running all the scans she could with her limited equipment. An unfortunate nurse had come in after the disturbance to assist but, after a single frosty glare from Shamal, she made herself scarce.

Ame had lapsed into quiet again... but her magic rolled about her like an untamed beast, stalking around its child. It lashed out at anyone who got close or attempted to use magic on the girl (Shamal herself had found out; her scorched right hand proved it). Beneath it, however, the girl herself was unnervingly still.

'_Just what's going on here? Is another section of the seal coming undone? Hayate said that Yuuno reinforced it though; this shouldn't be happening – she hasn't exerted herself at all... unless that explosion back in D-III served as a catalyst...'_

Pressing the last key with a tone of finality, Shamal stood back.

There was nothing to do save wait... except...

Shamal turned and stared at Priri. "What do you know about this?"

"Other than Ame's his primary target?" Priri questioned, and Shamal's eyebrow rose. The weight of an entire continent settled on Priri's shoulders, and the girl visibly tensed before sighing.

"Alright, fine..."

* * *

><p><strong>Year 1234 of the Forgotten Calendar<strong>

**-Village of Heron**

**-Sophia**

"Eldest sister!" A chorus of voices called out as Sophia walked into the room, followed by Mother Elora and a much less enthusiastic greeting of, "...Head Mother"

"Hello children," Sophia spoke while Elora pointed out a written list and hobbled out of sight. They were like plains-mice – a sea of wide eyes all staring at her expectantly – yet to discover the truth of the world and the place they called home – of the people that walked the streets and the reason there were so few men left in the village. Still, they looked up to her, and she couldn't bring herself to erase their innocence as hers had been erased, so she settled her face into a gentle smile and catered to them as much as she could.

As soon as she'd taken a step forward, the barrage of questions had begun. "Have you been to the fields? Have the wildflowers bloomed yet? Was it cold like Head Mother said it would be? Did you see the army, Mother Venna said they recruited more people today, did you know?"

The questions were par for the course. Yes, she'd been to the fields. Yes, the wildflowers bloomed – and yes, they were very pretty, by the way. No, it wasn't cold at all – and it's not very nice to say that about Mother Elora (though you're right, she is a rotten liar). And now, I didn't see the army – you shouldn't eavesdrop.

It was a long time before the children were appeased enough for them to finally let Sophia get to the chores she'd been called for, but that was just as well for she'd much prefer their idle talk and short-attention spans than the endless, repetitive tasks Mother Elora had set for her simply to keep her busy and within the village.

Sand the entry-door, scrub the floor, fetch some grain from the square, go run this message, go pick this up, go do this, and go do that, then do it all again, and again, and again...

It was set up to drive her insane, Sophia was certain. Mother Elora was waiting for her to break, but she refused to yield.

She would bend with the winds, not break under them. That was her way.

She refused to be uprooted again.

And so Sophia took Elora's abuse (for the tasks went far beyond the necessary, and some bordered on absurd) with token grace, determined to persevere.

* * *

><p><strong>Just after Ame's Fit<strong>

**-District IV Hospital**

**-Priri**

Priri didn't want to reveal the truth to Shamal, but the healer probably already suspected it, given that look... and _that look_ – it just wasn't fair! It was like someone took Eternity's awkward, older-sister aura and multiplied it a thousand times over, mixing in just enough sternness and anger to make her feel half her size.

"Alright, fine... To begin with... Hark sees us as nothing more than magical batteries. Me, Secele... you... Ame... everyone. As far as he's concerned, Mid-Childa is just a giant magical power-plant. What he wants to do with that power..." Priri shrugged, "I have no idea. I _do_ know that among everyone, he's only taken interest in those with a large amount of magical potential. The larger, the better... I think he wants to use one of us as a catalyst to start off whatever he has planned."

Expressions around the room varied. Fate was torn between being furious and regretful – Vivio was somewhat confused, though just as angry at the thought of Hark dehumanizing the populace. Nanoha was just plain furious, and Shamal... Shamal had an eery sort of cold anger in her eyes – like molten steel.

The room felt so much colder now.

"And so the reason he's so interested in Ame..." Shamal started.

"...is because she houses an unprecedented amount of magical power within her, yes." Priri confirmed. "He's targeted Iri too, but probably only as a back-up or a supplement..."

"Why did he let you out of his sight, then?" Fate asked quietly.

Priri shrugged, "Really don't know. I don't care either – if I can keep his grubby hand off of Iri, all the better."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Date<strong>

**-District I, Military Docks**

**-Tea Lanster**

"Five games, and you won all of them... murdered the poor man, even, and he's the ship's local card-shark. How?" Tea asked idly as she pushed Hinode's wheelchair out of the ship and along the pre-planned route, idly noting a pair of nondescript, C-rank guards flanking her as she left. '_Do they really think she's still dangerous?'_ A glance at the immobilized staff sergeant's grinning face and the thought was revised, '_Scratch that – do they really think a pair of C-ranks add any security at all?'_

"I'm the best card-player in the entirety of this sector. What else is there to say?" Hinode replied simply, before her grin vanished. "More seriously... what happened? D-III looks even worse for wear than it did when I left."

"I'm not au-" Tea started, before she was cut off sharply.

"Don't give me that bull – it's all over the news, I'm sure. _What. Happened?_"

"Why are you so interested?" Tea countered.

"Isn't that what you want to know, hm? Tell me and maybe you'll find out."

Tea let out a mental sigh of frustration. Such was the 'interrogation' of Hinode Seitsu... it felt more like the ex-investigator was interrogating _her_, than the other way around. "How in the world did you convince special investigations to let you go again?"

A wry, nostalgic grin crossed Hinode's face, and Tea wished she hadn't asked. "How do you _think_ I convinced them to let me transfer?"

"Are you going to answer me with a question every time I ask you something even somewhat relevant to the current incident?" Tea asked, exasperated.

"Are you going to keep asking me questions anyway if I say yes? And thanks for letting me know they're considering this an active incident."

The junior enforcer's brow twitched.

"So... how's the hospital in D-III holding up after the beating it took?" Hinode inquired.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Tea responded, dead-set on remaining silent for the rest of the journey to D-IV.

"Aw, don't be like that _Teanna, _you're the only one I can talk to. These two _drones_ beside us aren't much for conversation, after all."

Tea's brow twitched at the use of her full name before she realized something about the way Hinode had said that.

A pair of magical signatures flared up next to her and Tea pushed Hinode forward, turning and raising a barrier just in time to deflect a pair of sword-strikes.

**-Hinode**

As Tea fought off the drones... Hinode careened down the slope of the empty corridor they were located in. '_Not the best of decisions...'_ She thought, '_...but I suppose she had littlete choice. Needs to work on her environmental awareness, though_

There was a blur, and Hinode lurched forward as her wheelchair stopped, until she felt someone gently pushing her back into place.

Looking up and seeing a cracked silver helmet and blue visor, Hinode smiled sardonically. "Well now, I didn't expect to meet you again like this."

"...this one has never met you before." Hinode's rescuer answered monotonously, though still confusedly.

The gray ace herself simply shook her head, "It doesn't matter... if you're going to help, would you mind dealing with the drones up there?"

"...Two targets. Model Unknown. Targets assaulting Bureau Agent. Targets deemed hostile..." The gynoid rattled off before an odd glimmer appeared in the visor. "They are ended." She finished ominously before vanishing from sight-

_'No.'_ Hinode thought, '_She just moved at an absurdly fast speed. A lot faster than she did last time...' _Before she knew it, a dismembered arm rolled down the hill beside her as Eternity re-appeared, holding Tea in a head-lock, impassive to the girl's struggles. "This one would like to confirm that the Bureau Agent is not, in this case, hostile."

Hinode rose a brow, "Why are you asking me?"

"Why _is_ she asking you?" Tea asked, simultaneously annoyed and wary.

"This one is currently acting on the wishes of Subject Delta to protect Subject Beta. This one's internal equipment has been damaged, however, and can no longer track the Subjects positions. To that end, this one believes that Bureau Sergeant Seitsu could be of assistance, and would thus like to keep Bureau Sergeant Seitsu alive and well so that this one might carry out Subject Delta's wishes. This one asks again, is this Bureau Agent hostile or friendly?"

Hinode blinked, processing all of the information she'd just been given before responding to the question. "She's my escort." At the gynoid's continued restraining of Tea, Hinode sighed before elaborating. "She's friendly! Let her go, please."

Tea was released, rubbing her neck irrately as she gave her captor the evil eye.

"This one would like to recommend Bureau Sergeant Seitsu seek out more capable escort personnel."

"You-!" Tea started before cutting herself off with a sigh as she realized the gynoid was staring at her, still in a semi-defensive stance. "Forget it, it's just not worth it."

"This one would also like to advise Bureau Sergeant-"

"Call me Hinode, please."

"-Hinode that this one is not operating at full potential."

That was when the pair of Bureau officers noticed the narrow hole in Eternity's center, running straight through to the other side, with visibly frayed wiring filling it.

_'No kidding... and she took down those drones so easily.'_ They thought in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>Year 1234 of the Forgotten Calendar<strong>

**-Near Village of Heron**

**-Sophia**

She was on the hill with the lonely tree again, looking out over the endless sea of wildflowers that had sprung up. There was no wind today, and the sun was hidden behind an impenetrable black wall of clouds, casting a cold chill on what should've been a warm day. There was something wrong, she was certain, but she couldn't place it.

"Eldest Sister!" A voice cried out, and Sophia turned sharply.

It was Ben, one of the children from the orphanage... and he was a mess.

His arms and legs were covered in scrapes – his clothes were tattered – and he was crying his eyes out.

"Eldest Sister!" He cried repeatedly as Sophia hurried to him, "The village – the Home – Mother Vinna and Mother Elora – and everyone – there's so much fire and, and..."

"Shh Ben," Sophia soothed standing and getting ready to hurry to the village, "Wait here, okay?"

"No!" The boy cried, "You can't – you can't go! You can't! Mother Elora told me – told me you can't go! No matter what!"

"I'm going, Ben." Sophia declared, though it tore at her. "What about everyone else?"

"They – they..." The boy collapsed into a sobbing mess again, and Sophia internally sighed.

"Just wait here – I'll be back, I promise. With everyone."

The boy didn't respond, and she took that as her cue to hurry to the village.

To the rising column of smoke in the distance.

_**The winds blow whichever way they may, as the traveler's say. The ocean is a fierce mistress, whose currents conjure fierce tempests. To Nature's Ire we can but bow, and hope to save ourselves for now.**_

'_I will not break. I won't let them break either.'_ She thought.

_**And the earth was torn in two, and the rivers surged o'er the banks. And all the little toy villages and soldiers were cast away.**_


	16. Accelerate toward the End

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Taeniaea:** Cat's out of the bag now. We'll be wrapping things up in the next few chapters.

**Rimshooter:** Don't like how long it is, but, as the title suggests, we're speeding things up toward the end (as I think we warned we would be doing). A warning... the ending is supposed to be somewhat unsatisfactory, we'll be rewriting the story in more detail to explain a few things and hopefully do it better.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Chapter XVI**: Accelerate Toward the End

* * *

><p><strong>-Sophia<strong>

There was nothing to see but smoke, fire, and soldiers running to an thro with villagers trying desperately to escape them.

Sophia had expected the worst, but it was shocking even so, and she paused at the broken village gates.

When one of the armored men rushing about turned to her, she forced herself back into action.

She ran.

She ran through the chaos of the streets, past soldier and screaming villager alike, as if she were possessed of the speed of a stallion rather than a woman.

She ran until she came to the orphanage, covered thickly by greedy flames, with smoke bellowing out from the windows like the hot breathe of some angry god, the windows and doors tinged an ominous red by the flame.

_No!_

Sophia rushed into the orphanage, and the front wall collapsed behind her. Gasping, and inhaling an unprecedented amount of smoke, Sohpia fell as her her right leg was suddenly crushed by the falling rubble. And then the timbers began falling as well, and she saw the children's eyes at the end of the corridor, wide with fear.

'_Someone!'_ She cried out mentally, '_Someone save them!'_

More timbers fell, and the children were blocked from her view.

"Anyone!"

The scream echoed in her ears as darkness began to cloud her vision.

It was strange – all sight and sound; touch and sensation, had begun to fade away until it seemed there was nothing else but her.

Nothing but her laying in an endless field of burning darkness.

And then, as he sight finally began to fade completely and her consciousness receded, a white feather drifted down in front of her, edges tinged with gray.

Suddenly, everything stopped.

The fire, the rubble, the building, the sounds... all disappared.

Sophia was left in an eerie white space, suspended in mid-air by a large series of black and white chains.

'_Where-'_

As quickly as the thought came, it was cut off as the chains wrapped tighter, squeezing her.

And then they began to burn, and she screamed, and they burned hotter for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Date<strong>

**-D-IV Hospital**

**-General Perspective**

It started as a sort of quiet hiss, before suddenly it became a shrill, high-pitched wail, like water boiling in a tea-pot.

The magic surrounding Ame had gathered around a point on her forehead, somehow without notice, and then began drilling its way into her seal, much to the concern and surprise of everyone present.

Ame's eyes were wide open, her mouth wide (though no one could tell if she was producing the wail or not), and both were glowing errily, pupils obscured by light, mouth much the same.

It was frightening.

The girl was still, even now, but her discomfort was obvious, and the magic about her was anything but inert as it forced its way into her seal, lashing out violently when Shamal tried to restrain it.

The Knight of the Lake had just barely escaped being tossed out the window by a concussive blast.

It reminded Priri of the way _her_ magic had been described when she let it build up. Did Ame's work the same way?

_Wouldn't that mean-_

The windows broke, an eerie specter hovering within them.

Cursing under her breath, Priri made to move and intercept it, but she was pushed back as Fate sprung past, device activated in scythe-form, and sliced it in half.

As its form disappeared, three more appeared outside.

'_Hayate!_ Shamal sent urgently, '_The hospital's under attack!'_

A trio of pink beams shot out into the sky as Nanoha joined the fight outside.

The world took on an odd blue hue as the group entered into an alternate space.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Indeterminate<strong>

**-Unknown Location**

**-Ame Yagami**

**Pitiful child.**

Ame's eyes widened. That was her voice!

Angry and spiteful, but it was hers!

"Who-?" She started to ask, absently noticing everything else was silent.

**Who? You dare ask that? Why must I be your babysitter, child? You know the answer.**

"I don't." Ame replied simply, gaining some strength back now that the chaos about was no longer the same.

**You do, though. You do! You just won't admit it!**

"I have no id-"

**Lies!** The word pierced through empty space, deafening in volume.** How long are you going to wallow in this pathetic trap? How long?**

Ame could not respond, stunned by the sheer fury in the voice.

**You are capable of far more than to be some deranged fool's puppet! Just admit it already, I grow tired of waiting!**

'_But I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about!' Ame wanted to scream, but she couldn't._

_That's enough, already. Calm down._ Again, it was Ame's voice speaking to her, but this one was far less angry. There was a solemn air to it, and it was laced with peace... and regret.

**Bah! I'll be calm when she stops wasting the time we've been working so hard to give her!**

_Have some patience. She is but a child. No ordinary child, to be sure, but you expect far too much of her.__Your impatience will be the end of all of us, at this rate. Would you like that?_

**Cheh. Fine, have it your way. Just remember; we only have one shot at this – if you screw it up I'm never going to forgive you!**

_I know._

Ame, for her part, was staring about wildly trying to find the owners of these voices. Surely she couldn't be talking to herself – her lips weren't moving at all... unless this was telepathy.

_You're correct on all accounts._

Ame blinked, but that didn't make any-

_-sense?_ The voice finished. _You are young still, and I, for one, would rather you stay that way. Just accept there are some questions better left unanswered._

"But-!"

"_No buts."_ The voice cut her off, but not mentally as before. Ame whirled about, and there, floating in the air in a familiar white dress, was herself...

...sort of.

Her doppelgangers hair was white, and she had a pair of large, extended wings protruding from her back, snow-white in color.

"Who-" Ame started to ask, but she was cut off.

"_Who I am doesn't matter anymore. I am dead. What matters..."_ The doppelganger trailed off, _"...is who you'll become, dear child."_

Dear child? The other had called her child too, but...

"_Don't worry yourself overmuch, Ame. We call you child because, in a way, that is what you are – our child."_

"_**Your**_** child. I refuse to admit having any part in that whelp's creation."** The other voice cut in, and Ame turned to see another doppelganger, except the colors were inverted. Where the first was white, this one was black. Where one's eyes were blue, like Ame's, this other's were orange – almost gold in color.

Ame's attention was drawn back to the lighter one, though, when it let out a small giggle, _"Deny it all you want, she is as much a part of you as she is me."_ The amusement vanished from the doppleganger's face quickly though, as it turned from its counterpart to Ame. _"But we have little time. You have to escape this trap, or an irrevocable mistake will be made."_

The dark one scoffed, but did not comment.

"But how will I escape?" Ame asked, deciding that if they were right, and she sensed they were, her questions could be answered later.

"_It's simple, really. We are currently trapped within your mind – you hold dominion here, as much as my compatriot here has tried to disprove that, so you have but to find the point where the trap originates and destroy it."_

Ame blinked, "But..."

"_Don't you want to see them again? To learn with them, grow with them, _be_ with them?" _The words cut through Ame better than any blade could, and the doppleganger continued, eyes regretful,_"Don't you feel hollow now?"_

Hesitantly, Ame nodded.

"**Then go back to them! If you stumble, catch yourself. If you fall, stand back up. Keep running – walking; crawl to your destination if you have to. Give up, and there will be no salvation."**

"_Return to that light – let it fill you. Never lose it. Never... or you will fade away."_

The dopplegangers vanished then, dissolving in a dazzling display of black and white, leaving Ame alone in the darkness again as the voices returned.

But now Ame remembered.

She was not helpless.

The shadows encircled her...

...and then a great tide of azure light washed them away.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Date<strong>

**-D-IV Hospital**

**-Fate Testaross Harlaown / General Perspective**

Fate let out a breathe of air as she swung, cutting yet another apparition in half as a trio of pink beams flew by, dispelling yet more. '_Why are we the only ones fighting?'_ She wondered. Surely the TSAB would have responded to an attack this deep into their capital by now... even if it was a token force.

This was a military hospital, after all – but no one had shown up.

They could hold out a long time, but moving the girls was too risky, and at this rate they'd be overwhelmed...

...normally, that would never be a problem, though. Even without assistance, she and Nanoha could potentially hold out for months, weeks... but Nanoha wasn't in the best of conditions, and niether was she.

And beyond Shamal, they had no reliable back-up.

Priri was burned out (for the moment, at least). Iri, Raven, and Ame were all indisposed... Vivio couldn't fly yet. At least, not reliably. She'd need a device.

A narrow miss from an apparition brough Fate's attention back to the fight.

One ruined construct later and Fate realized something...

She and Nanoha were tiring entirely too fast. Something was suppressing their magic.

"_Fate, move!"_ Nanoha called out, screaming and sending a telepathic message simultaneously.

Without thinking, Fate Sonic-Moved away, and not a moment too soon as a large swirling line of white energy soared past where she had been, disspiating after failing to hit its target..

Tracing the blast to its source, Fate saw white-robed figure holding a large bow of magical energy. She was standing on air, suspended on a glowing mass of seals and magical diagrams and beside her was-

_'That!'s the gynoid that killed Ren!'_

The blonde enforcer was shaken from this distraction, however, when another arrow flew by, prompting her to dodge to the side. A retaliatory beam of pink energy was sent spiralling toward the two, courtesy of Nanoha, but when the impact cleared, they had already relocated to another point.

Fate charged toward them, but she was intercepted by a trio of specters. She dispatched them with a single swing from bardiche, but by that time the two had relocated and an arrow of white light was racing toward her.

Defenser.

Bardiche toned, and a golden shield appeared in front of her, absorbing the attack just before it hit...

...and then there was an explosion coming from the direction of the hospital.

Fate looked back, just in time to see the gynoid appear in front of Nanoha. The Ace of Aces swore, trying to raise a barrier... only for her assailant to disappear and re-appear several yards away, next to the archer.

In its place, facing away from Nanoha, was another gynoid, almost identical, except it was silver and blue as opposed to ash-gray and red...

...and a sizable gash in the stomach, allowing Nanoha to see clear through.

"Two targets. Recognized. Identities verified as Subject Gamma and Caretaker." The voice came, monotonous, clipped, and oddly familiar.

'_She sounds like Ame!'_ Nanoha realized abruptly, but any further thoughts on the matter were interrupted as Priri called out from behind.

"Eternity! Where have you – **what** _on earth have you been doing?_"

To anyone else, the gynoid appear stoic, but Nanoha noticed a slight flinch at the girl's concerned voice.

"Subject Delta," Eternity spoke, "I will debrief you properly later. Subject Alpha is in a precarious state. Am I to-"

What Eternity was about to suggest could only be guessed at because at that moment Priri interrupted her with a loud, "No! Never!"

"...I see." The gynoid responded, a single visible blue eye staring out of her cracked visor at the girl.

And then, to all but the most experienced observers, Eternity vanished, a sword of blue magical energy in one hand.

Nanoha could barely make out her form as the gynoid jumped out of the building, propelling herself at an absurd speed and obviously intent on striking the archer and her 'caretaker' down.

In the background, she could just make out Priri cursing under her breath at the gynoid's escape from her.

"So I leave home for a few days and look what happens."A new voice quipped.

"You-!" Priri shouted, and Nanoha turned slightly to see Hinode sitting in the doorway in a wheelchair, an exhasperated Tea standing next to her.

"Yes..." The gray ace started, tone and face caught in bitter humor, "...me."

**-Eternity / General Perspective**

It took less than a second for Eternity to cross the gap between herself and her opponents, but, from her perspective, the distance closed with agonizing slowness. Ever millisecond another six thoughts ran through her head, another twelve observations made. It was a scene played out in slow-motion, with startling clarity.

In a way, it was euphoric to be able to _see_ something other than the limited data given to her by the (now broken) visor adorning her face, but now... Eternity almost wish it hadn't broken.

Once the primary inhibitor on her psyche had been broken, the rest began crumbling quickly afterward. In short, irregular bursts, Eternity regained more of herself than she had been, for the longest of times, completely unaware had existed.

With its destruction, she became capable of abstract thought once more... and then she became curious. Just how much else was she capable of doing?

She tested her parameters, and when the metaphorical walls around her gave, she pushed them down.

Now she was almost herself once more. _Almost_ back to what she used to be...

...but the part that she regretted, the part that she feared, is that meant she would no longer be what she is now, and she didn't know what she'd become.

Such thought distracted her as she closed in with Destiny and Secele, sword already swinging toward the former.

Destiny parried it with her arm-blade, but Eternity was undeterred, pressing the magical construct in her hand further. The blade seared through Destiny's arm, cutting the appendage off at the elbow. Destiny prepared to teleport, but Eternity grabbed her remaining arm, preventing her from escaping without bringing Eternity with her.

There was a brief moment of pity visible in Eternity's visible eye, and then she brought her blade up and through Destiny's torso, cutting her in to from the hip to its opposite shoulder.

But even still, Destiny forced her remaining arm against Eternity, bringing the blade across her already damaged mask as Eternity released it.

Eternity lost the remains of her visor... Destiny lost her life.

All in a little less than two seconds.

As Destiny's remains and Eternity's visor fell to the ground, a white light washed over the victorious gynoid, obscuring her from view.

When the blast cleared, Eternity was still standing, a wave of azure hair falling and obscuring her features.

Secele vanished, and didn't re-appear. Above, the phantoms followed suit.

But Eternity didn't care. The only true threat that was ever there was Destiny.

_'More importantly,'_ She thought, looking around the battlefield, '_this barrier... it belongs to _him.'

"What a monster you are." A familiar voice toned in from behind, dripping with venomous humor.

Eternity turned, blade already swinging to sever the man's head, only for him to duck beneath it, a glowing white fist plunging into her abdomen.

But Eternity ignored it, bringing her sword further along its intended curse anyway. Her opponent, realizing her intentions, pushed her away immediately, teleporting out of range.

"_You_, are calling _me_ a monster?" The gynoid spoke, idly noting that the injury in her abdomen had widened signifcantly due to Harp's attack. '_Priri won't like that.'_

The man didn't respond except to let out a sigh. "So I see you're consciousness is free. How's it feel?"

Eternity's response was to toss her sword at him, the blade whizzing past his head as he leaned to the side. He was given no time to collect himself, though, because Eternity was already ontop of him again, a pair of swords suspended above her arms, one moving to pierce him, the other already deflecting the oncoming strike from his arm. He dissolved in a show of white orbs as her sword pierced him, and she turned, knocking aside an attack from behind and stabbing forward with her free hand.

The ground was stained red as Eternity ran the man through.

"My..." He grunted, "...how much you've improved."

Eternity didn't respond, bringing her sword up and wrenching it before pulling it out, her other arm bringing its blade about and severing the man's head from his body.

"It feels," She spat, "like someone just twisted every single fiber of my being, drawn them into a rope, tied them into a knot, and then used them to hang a carrot on a string." She stabbed his prone form again, "Like someone just laughed at everything I stand for, killed me, and then danced on my grave even as they resurrected me and turned me into a _mindless **puppet**_!" Eternity would have brutalized him even further, but she was reminded of the other participants of this battle as Fate set down behind her.

"Don't you think..." the enforcer trailed off uneasily, "...that's enough?"

Eternity's response was a half-turned face and a sad smile, "No... because I can't kill him. He's still alive."

Before Fate could process that statement, the blood on the ground coalescend into a solid lance and impaled the gynoid in front of her through the skull before retracting and striking her across the side like some bizarre tentacle.

Horrified, Fate watched as Eternity flew through the air, face frozen in that sad, unnervingly _familiar_ smile. Before the enforcer's eyes, the man's blood retracted into his body, his wound closing as his head just... shifted... back into its proper place, a grim smile painted on it as he stood, cracking his neck.

"Foolish construct," He intoned, "I'm immortal. You may be ancient and similarly undying... but that is where the similarities end."

He raised his hand, and Fate forced herself out of her shock and into the air, just in time to dodge a strike from a large sword of white energy. He looked up, smile still in place, staring at Fate and the ones beyond her. "Well then, don't you want to stop me? Don't you have something you would protect with your life? Something you couldn't bear to lose? Come, now." He lost all pretense of sanity then, "Come kill me before I rip everything away from you!"

A massive seal appeared behind him, and an enormous black gauntlet extended out of it and grasped its side, followed by another.

"_Oh cursed knight, honor the contract that binds thy soul in chains**.** Answer my call,** and rip everything in my way asunder!"**_ The man chanted, voice echoing as a barrier sprung up to life around him, knocking Fate away when she tried to interrupt him. The gauntlets began pulling until a torso was visible, "Ye murderer of countless innocents, come shed blood once again." He finished quietly, and the black giant pulled itself out of the circle entirely, hefting a spear in one hand

* * *

><p><strong>Time Indeterminate<strong>

**-Ame's Mindscape_my_**

**-Ame Yagami**

Ame walked through the corridors of her mind curiously. As far as she could tell, they were an endless labrynth, all solid white. On the bright side, the shadows, voices, and visions had all left when she neutralized them... but she was still at a loss as to finding the source of the trap. '_This is annoying!'_ She thought, uncharacteristically frustrated. She'd been searching through the corridors for an untold amount of time already, and she'd grown far too tired of it. The urgency in her doppleganger's voices was clear enough. '_Why can't I just find it? This is _my_ mind!'_

There was a faint pulse then. A ripple, almost, that bent the hallways as it passed. Ame's eyes widened slightly as she processed the implications, '_Unless... is this part of the trap?'_

Experimentally, Ame flared her magic and, true to her suspicions, the entire corridor began bending around her. She pressed harder, and the illusion shattered, leaving her standing on the platform in front of the door once more.

But now there were only two chains left, and before her eyes one of them disintigrated and vanished to the ground. But... something still wasn't quite right. Something felt... wrong... about the door, like someone was hanging a cloth in front of her. She could see the door clearly, but she could also faintly see something else, overlapping with it.

Suddenly, a scream pierced through the area, echoing off the walls and reverbrating for several seconds through the air.

And it had come from the door.

Ame made up her mind, calling to her magic once more, and directing it at the door.

A shimmering silver barrier appeared in front of it, and the two forces collided with each-other in a furious struggle for dominance.

Searing pain blossomed on Ame's forehead, prompting a cry of pain, but she persisted. There was someone behind that door.

That door was the origin of the trap.

She had to save that person...

...and she had to save herself.

She had to return to the ones that would miss her. She had to cherish them.

_The barrier shattered, and the chain fell away. The door began to buckle._

Ame persisted. She had to help that person, and to do that she had to help herself.

She had to show Hayate and the others how much she loved them.

How much she had enjoyed their presence... and how empty she felt now.

The door fell apart, and a blinding white light sprung forth.

When the light cleared, Ame found herself suspended in an endless white expanse, surrounded by floating picture frames, the images of which were all blurred, fractured, or rendered completely incomprehensible.

Under her gaze, the images moved, walked, danced, all in a convulted, broken sort of way that made no sense. And then Ame saw a black line running into the distance, and she began to walk, then run towards it.

More lines became visible, and she stared upward, watching the countless bindings extend upward where they were wrapped around someone, so far away Ame couldn't see them. Undeterred, Ame floated upward until she was level with them, giving no thought to it – this place belonged to her, after all, didn't it?

It was a girl, Ame saw.

Her hair was a sandy, light shade of brown, and she was around Subaru's age... but, what struck Ame the most as the girl looked up and emerald eyes met blue, was that their faces were exactly the same.

"Y-" The girl started to say, but a surge of energy sprang from the chains, and the girl cried out in pain instead.

Reflexively, Ame called to her magic. Eagerly, the azure light sprang from within her, wrapping itself about the chains – almost without Ame even having to direct it to do so.

"No!" The girl shouted, but Ame didn't hear her.

The light wrapped itself tighter around the chains, and they shattered. The girl fell, and Ame vanished.

"Why?" The girl sobbed, "Couldn't you see? With those precious eyes of yours... couldn't you see?"

"I was the trap!" She cried, "You've done exactly what he wanted!"

_She couldn't help it, elder sister._ A voice intoned, and the girl looked about wildly before the white doppleganger of Ame appeared.

"What do you mean?"

**You already know. I know, she knows; therefor, you know, so stop sobbing and get yourself together.** The black one appeared then, her expression as harsh as her words.

The white one glared at its counterpart, an expression that somehow didn't suit her at all, before looking back to the girl, _"She couldn't help it... It was what she was born to do. No matter how much she wanted to live... no matter how hard we tried to break her of her own chains... she couldn't stop. You must realize why, after all, elder sister. We were created to protect you..."_

The girl sobbed again, "...and she was created..."

"**To save you."** The black one finished, glaring down at her, **"To serve you. To be your sword and shield. She was brought here, however, for one reason... To free you. And now, you are free. Free to die as she loses herself, just as _he_ had planned. And there is nothing we can do about it."**

"_I had hoped,"_ The white one said as she and her counterpart vanished, _"That maybe she had managed to become something more. That her heart had become strong enough,"_

* * *

><p><strong>-General Perspective<strong>

In the hospital room, Ame's magic began flaring even more wildly.

Below, Hark laughed madly into the wind. "Do you hear her, mage? Her song, rising in volume to match my own? She awakens, at last!"

Iri began to stir fitfully, and, at a signal from Shamal, Signum exited the room to join the battle below.

Not a second later, an explosion of azure light surged from the hospital room. Within, everyone conscious stared as Ame's magic surged about wildly... and then her body began to disintigrate before their eyes, skin peeling away to reveal a complex network of seals and magical sigils. With a start, Shamal realized Ame's true nature.

She wasn't an artificial mage...

* * *

><p><strong>But in the end, she remained yours, as she always has been.<strong>

_She remained loyal to you, as she always was..._

**Your power.**


	17. The Child's Name

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark / Harp, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition, Aethis (Archer), Sophia / Anima / Amina

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven, Aethis (Knight)

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device, Messengers

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells, "Broken" Sword

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Taeniaea:** For what it's worth – I'm on Aethis' side.

**Rimshooter:** Explanations. A little action, but not much.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

_The Child's True Name_

* * *

><p><strong>Just After Ame's Seal Broke<strong>

**-Alternate Dimmension over District IV Hospital**

**-Hayate Yagami + Reinforce Zwei (Unisoned)**

When the light cleared, the entire hospital, and everything around it, had been completely leveled and replaced by an enormouse azure rift in space in time.

This was the scene Hayate arrived at after forcing herself into the dimmension formed by the man. How it was still stable, Hayate hadn't the slightest clue, but it was evident that everyone present had been drawn into the swirling mass of magic that marked the hospital.

"_Hayate..."_ Rein's voice came, concerned, from somewhere in Hayate's psyche, but there was no time to mourn, or even think at all as a barrage of magical tendrils shot out of the rift, seeking to capture Hayate. _"Hayate!" _Rein called out in warning, but Hayate was already moving. A pair of black wings formed on her back as she took to the air, dodging and weaving around the glowing, blue tendrils as they individually tried to ensnare her. _"Panzerschild!"_ Rein called, a white barrier forming and deflecting one of the tendrils when it was about to capture Hayate from behind.

The tendrils froze and quivered for a moment, as if in frustration, before twice their number erupted from the rift to join them, and they rushed Hayate in unison, breaking up when she dodged the initial rush and forming a net around her. _"Hayate!"_ Rein called, before the tendrils closed in, leaving Hayate no room for escape as they grasped her and dragged her into the rift.

Oddly, the tendrils didn't squeeze or apply much pressure at all beyond keeping Hayate restrained. For a forced capture, they were being surprisingly... careful... not to hurt her.

**Within (or across) the Rift**

When the light cleared, Hayate found herself laying on cold, stone floor in a hallway that extended almost indefinitely in either direction. Before she could examine anything any closer, Reinforce was hovering in front of her face, looking extremely relieved. With an excited cry, the sprit proceeded to glomp Hayate... or her nose, anyway, as Rein wasn't big enough to pull off a full-sized glomp... yet.

"Rein," Hayate started, "while I'm glad you're okay, and appreciate your affection... could you please get off my face so I can see and figure out where we are?"

The unison device released Hayate, rubbing the back of her small head sheepishly. "Sorry. I've tried scouting... the hallway just keeps going, and going, and going, whichever direction I go... and then I come across you again! I think we're stuck in some kind of weird dimmensional loop."

"No signs of anyone else, or a way out?" Hayate asked, even though she suspected the answer already.

Rein shook her head, "I tried a search spell, but something about this place keeps throwing it off."

Hayate knuckled her forehead, sighing. "You said the corridor just loops back around?"

Her companion nodded, "And it doesn't curve either! It's a perfeclty straight corridor, so far as I can tell."

Before any action could be taken, beside Hayate turned into a door made of stained glass. "I don't like this." Rein spoke in response, and Hayate nodded... and, as if in response, a wall rose out of the ground on either side of them, leaving the door as the only exit. "Now I _really_ don't like this." Rein complained.

"We could just stay here..." Hayate suggested. The walls around them shook, and the two exchanged a nervous glance with each other before Hayate steeled herself. "..or not. Looks like we have to play along to figure this out."

"Still don't like it." Rein muttered from her place on Hayate's shoulder.

When Hayate opened the door and passed through, it vanished behind her, leaving her standing on a desolate island, floating in a sea of chaotic eldritch energy. It was a small thing, barely the size of a house, with an empty fountain in the center, a dead tree looming over it. As Hayte looked about, surveying the island, she noticed several fragments of stone being tossed about in the storm. Not a reassuring sign.

"**Well, here you are."** A voice spoke, echoing all about the island,, making Hayate realize just how... quiet it was. A black silhouette formed in front of Hayate, a cloud of darkness coalescing into the general form of a person, before it solidified. **"Perhaps we didn't give the whelp enough credit."**

"What do you mean?" Hayte inquired carefully, not entirely eager to incite any hostility from the being before her, but still unwilling to remain silent.

The thing snorted, **"You would have no idea. You have power, yes, but yours is restrained. It is ancient, but _you_ are not."**

"Stop dancing around the question!" Rein inserted, irritated that Hayate's question was being ignored.

"**And why should I indulge you, construct?" **It responded imperiously, **"You are _nothing._ A little slip of a being tied together by a desperate girl using the remnants of a long-dead spirit."**

"You-!" The unison device started indignantly, but she was silenced when she noticed Hayate's expression.

"Who, or _what_, are you?" Hayate demanded, a stern, unreadable expression on her face.

The thing chuckled then, a hollow, empty thing that left one wondering if its source was actually _trying_ to be genuine, or was simply mocking them. **"You **_**do**_** have a spine! Well, of course **_**you**_** do – you're alive."** The shadows seemed to fill out then, gaining color and transforming until Hayate could swear she was staring at Ame... except for the black hair, golden eyes, and condescending expression. **"I, however, am not, unfortunately – a sword through the chest will do that, broken or no. For what it's worth, you may call me Anima."**

As Hayate opened her mouth to speak, Anima rolled her eyes, silencing the ace with a wave of her hand... or rather, the enormous pressure that came it – thick and palpable to the extent niether Hayate nor Rein could move, let alone speak. **"No, mage, I am **_**not**_** the whelp. Do not even suggest such a thing. **_**I**_**, am Anima – in case you did not hear. I have no ties to the girl you refer to... well, not **_**directly**_**, anyway. Certainly not in the way you might be thinking."**

The pressure vanished, and Hayate stumbled slightly before forcing herself to stand back at her full height. "Then what's happened to Ame?"

"**Ah, the golden question. I was wondering how long we would bicker about trivialities before we got to this."** Seeing the growing agitation in the duo in front of her, Anima's smirk grew more pronounced, **"Oh look, the concerned "mother" is preparing to smite me."** The impetuous girl spouted in mock fear, prompting Hayate to tense in fury, **"Do that, and Ame will never return to what she once was. What's more, you would be signing the death warrant of your entire planet. Not even _he_ can hold the alternate dimmension long enough for the power he's unleashed to disperse. He doesn't care to, either."**

When _that_ was put on the table, Hayate made a visible effort to resrain the anger Anima had incited. "What do you mean?"

"**Why do you bother asking? You are aware that the whelp has an unprecedented amount of magical power within her, yes?"** At Hayate's nod, Anima continued, **"Such power could tear a rift between dimmensions, allow one access to the Sacred Corridor – the time stream, for lack of time for a better explanation. With such access, _he_ could go through the Sacred Corridor, back to our home dimmension, to a point before the one he loves died, and thus he could prevent her death, such as it was. This is his goal. Do you follow thus far?"**

Hayate nodded, but several thing still didn't quite fit right. "That still doesn't tell me what your relation to Ame is, what – exactly – has happened her, or even why you hate him so much."

Anima took a seat on the fountain's side, propping her head on one hand with a decidedly bored expression on her face, **"I've told you once already, I have no direct relation to the whelp. What happened to her? She fell for _his_ trap, and lost control of her power. Why do I hate him? I do not."** The girl closed her eyes, a slightly pained expression on her face, **"He made me into who I am now – broke his promise in the worst possible way, and I've yet to forgive him for it."**

The air behind Anima shimmered, and the girl opened her eyes with a resigned sigh. **"We had less time than I expected."** She commented as someone appeared behind her, clad in a suit of platemail that was decidedly worse for wear, missing several pieces, a sword broken half-way down its length in their hands. Beside them was another figure in a heavy black cloak, holding a bow. **"You know, Aethis, can't you see we're busy? Go away. I don't want to see your faces again. Ever."**

There was a period of silence, before an arrow was loosed from the black figure's bow, speeding toward Anima only to be deflected to the side by a wave of her hand.** "Of course, you're memory wraiths. You wouldn't care, would you?"**

As if in response, the armored figure charged, broken blade glowing a strange mix of gold and violet as Anima sent several waves of black energy after them, only for the blade to cut _through_ them, dispelling the energy with a disturbing level of ease. **"Go now!" **Anima shouted over her shoulder, "You do not want to see this."

But it was too late. The figure closed, and her blade pierced through Anima's barrier, and then the dopple's skin, erupting from her back, trailing black energy all the way. There was a moment of silence, with Anima suspended in the air on the figure's blade, before the dopple's body _exploded_. Black energy set out into the sky, converging in a great ball, as silver energy erupted from the fountain to join it. The two mixed, gaining a familiar blue hue as the knight stepped back in shock.

'_No...'_ Hayate thought, seeing the color of the magic.

The magic solidified then, forming the basic shape of a human – two legs, two arms, and a head. Then the silhouette that formed was encased in armor, black on the right and white on the left. A pair of large, feathered wings grew from the back, matching the armor's color, and the silhouette's skin gained a normal, healthy hue, glowing azure hair forming and hanging from its head. The eyes opened, revealing a pair of onyx orbs, which glowered down at the knight's form in anger. "Ame..." Hayate whispered, even as the black-cloaked figure cursed and the knight muttered to herself.

The scene faded away, leaving Hayate and Reinforce standing in front of the door again, only now it was locked.

"_I'm sorry you had to see that."_ A voice spoke from behind, and the pair swung around to see a mirror was now mounted in the wall, only instead of a reflection, there was a girl inside it. She exactly like Anima, only the colors were inverted so that her hair was white and her eyes a familiar sapphire blue.

"What was that?" Hayate asked urgently. That was Ame, she was certain of it. It may have been older, might have wreaked of power, fury, and all sorts of other negative things... but that was Ame. Black as night, they were the same sad, empty eyes. It was the same searching gaze, trying to find some solave in the things it saw, and failing.

"_It was a memory."_ The girl responded, _"A memory of a well-deserved death, and a well-deserved birth... both of which were warped by powers none of us could ever hope to understand."_

"You didn't answer my question," Hayate persisted, "What. Was. That?"

The girl sighed, averting her gaze. _"...The Messenger of Despair would be its proper name. _Her_ proper name. The power of a god, of sorts, torn away and set loose on the world, with no inclination of what it means to live, to breathe. Desperate to return to its orginal source, and uncaring of anything in the way... My – _your_ – child's true form. An engine of destruction without equal; made to be so by the very hands that tried to give it peace."_

Hayate remained silent for a brief while then. Power of a god? Engine of destruction? It sounded far too much like some of the ways she had heard people describe the "Book of Darkness" - the Tome of the Night Sky. "No." She spoke, meeting the empty, sapphire eyes of the being before her, "No. She's not an engine of destruction. She's a child. A scared, lonely child that's just trying to figure out what she is – what she's supposed to be."

To her surprise, the figure before her nodded, a soft smile gracing her features and sending a small pang of pain into Hayate's heart. _"I was right about you," _She spoke, _"You are right. She is not merely the messeneger of despair – not merely an engine of destruction. That is what you saw, to be sure, but that is not all she is. She was born from two beings – myself and Anima – and thus she has two names. Despair..."_

"And Hope." Another voice finished, prompting Hayate to turn to the side and see she was no longer alone. Standing in the corridor was a young woman with sandy blonde hair and emerald eyes. Before anything could be said, the newcomer dropped to her knees, supplicating herself before Hayate. "For what it's worth, Hayate... I'm truly sorry. This is all my fault. Don't blame Harp too much... his actions aren't excusable – I'm not even trying to say that – but he's just trying his best to keep his promise to protect me, and avoid losing himself in the process... but he failed a long time ago."

Hayate quite know what she was supposed to say to that. On one hand, Harp was a mass-murderer responsible for numerous unethical experiments, who'd shown an almost careless disregard for human life... but on the other... would her knights have not done some of the same things, if they would have saved her life? And Harp had _failed_ to save the girl's life... and for who knows how long, he had been trying to make it right. Kept trying to keep his promise after so long, destroying himself in the process.

It wasn't excusable at all... but it was still sad, in a way. He might not deserve to live, but he at least deserved to be put to rest.

Hayate doubted he cared much for his own life anymore, anyway.

After a period of silence, Hayate remembered the girl was still on the ground in frount of her. "Get up." She said, "Get up – get up!"

As the girl stood, a questioning look on her face, Hayate slapped her. "What's your name?"

"...Sophia." She spoke, holding her cheek, confused.

"Don't apologize for him. Just... don't. I can't make things know that. Don't apologize for him... you insult his efforts. Insult the people he's hurt. If anything you should apologize _to_ him, for making him search all these years... _to_ Ame, for causing her so be put through all this... to _Iri_, for losing her sister... but don't apologise to me. I don't deserve it."

Uncertain what to say, .

That was when Reinforce slapped Hayate...well, she didn't slap her so much as she conjured a chain and used the _chain_ to slap her.

"I deserved that." Hayate conceded as Reinforce Zwei nodded in self-satisfaction. "Now..." She said, straightening and looking between Sophia and the other girl, "What can we do to fix all this?"

Sophia shrugged helplessly, looking to her child-like doppleganger in the mirror. "You know, don't you?"

"_Of course, onee-sama."_ She responded, _"But you should know better than to ask me for advice, shouldn't you? What I know, Anima knows. What we know, _you_ know."_

Sophia's eye twitched, "We don't have time for this, Amina. What do we need to do?"

"_This is the world created by our imouto to keep her mind from falling apart, is it not? Essentially, we are in side of her, as it is her power – her essence – that holds this place together and gives it form. We are merely visitors, unless-"_

"I refuse." Sophia interrupted, refusing to meet Hayate's gaze and elaborate.

"_...then we need to find the place her consciousness – the part of her fashioned from the memories she's acquired since being 'born' – and prevent it from being destroyed. Already, this world begins to whither away – Ame runs out of memories of her own far too quickly, and we can only give her so many of ours to use lest we accelerate the process even more."_

"Then how do we find her?" Reinforce asked, and in response Amina pointed at Hayate.

"_She pulled you here for a reason, Hayate. She wants to see you – desperately wishes to speak with you. Whereas she's placed the others elsewhre, somewhere she thinks they'll be safe, she takes you directly to her mindscape. She wants to be found, you have only but to look."_

The hallway was wracked with a tremor then, and the mirror Amina was within cracked, causing her to vanish. It continued to shake, and Sophia found herself beginning to fade as well. "Good luck." She said, smiling, "We bought you as much time as we could." And then she was gone as well.

Startled, Hayate realized what they must have done. They had already supplied Ame with fragmented memories to use. Use how? To cling to – to use as a shield to be worn away before her own, more fragile memories.

They had destroyed themselves, or at least seriously weakened themselves.

Gritting her teeth, Hayate broke the remains of Amina's mirror into countless pieces. "Damn it." She muttered softly, "Not again."

* * *

><p><strong>OMAKE<strong>

_What're you so scared of?_

"Hey Anima," Hayate called, "I know you're here – you always are!"

In response, the black-hared doppleganger showed up in front of Hayate, **"What do you want, mage?"**

"Not feeling very friendly today are you?"

Anima just stared at her.**"**

"Right..." She said nervously, "Anyway, I noticed you, Harp, and even the authors refuse to refer to the people who killed you by name... why is that?"

"**You want to know... why I don't call Aethis by their names?"** Anima asked, annunciating each word slowly and as sarcastically as possible. **"Why do you not call the devil by his name? Why do _you_ refuse to call Harp by name?"**

Hayate stared at her, and eventually Anima sighed. **"It is not done, mage. It. Is. Not. Done. Calling Aethis' name is like invoking the name of a demon – speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Do you understand?"**

"So what're their names?"

"**I refuse to say them."**

"Come on-"

"**No."**

"You're just being a scaredy-cat!"

"**I'm not. I have perfectly good reasons not to invoke their names. You do not need to know them."**

"See? You can't even defend yourself!"

"**I don't need to."**

"Now you're trying to change the topic!"

"**What topic?"**

"_Aethis' names, nee-san."_ Amina cut in, appearing beside her. _"Really, what're you so scared of? You're dead, it's no tlike they could hurt you. Besides, they were friendly to me."_

"**It's _your_ fault they got involved in the first place. Don't think I forgot that."**

"_It's surprisingly amusing to see you get so defensive, nee-chan."_

"**You..."**Anima started threateningly, but Hayate cut in.

"You know their names too, right Amina? What are they?"

Amina turned, a mischievous smile on her face, "_Duriel and Elith."_

Anima's eyes widened as she started looking about wildly, **"Don't say that!"**

"_Duriel, Elith!"_Amina called, and Anima turned on her counterpart vengefully.

"**Don't say that!"** She cried, a bar of soap materializing in her hand.

"_Oh no, nee-chan has a bar of soap!"_ Amina cried in mock fear. Anima lunged, and Amina sank into a nearby mirror, prompting Anima to pull at her hair in frustration.

From within the mirror, Amina blew rasberries at her counterpart.

Irritated, Anima turned her attention to the only remaining target – Hayate. **"Hayate, this is all your fault! Prepare to taste soap!"** Anima cried, lunging at Hayate.

In response, the Living Lost Logia, Ex-Commander of Section Six, and Mistress of the Tome of the Night Sky... hastily cast a flight spell and ran away, frantically dodging a barrage of soapy projectiles.

As the two left the seen, and Amina moved to a mirror elsewhere to watch the feud, a bewildered knight flashed into existence in the room they had been in. "Huh, I thought someone needed something. Damn, now I have to return to that stupid gate. Why'd I have to be noble and let Elith leave to search for her twin? Stupid teal-eyes, now I have to guard it 24/7, every month, of every year, of every decade, of every _century._ No breaks. And nee-chan vanished again, too!"

Somewhere, a notorious demon slayer / fire goddess / cursed elf child sneezed.

Moments later, the knight flashed away... just as Anima and Hayate rounded the corner and entered from the other side. As Hayate dived to the side, Anima froze up, a cold shiver running down her spine, as if someone had stepped on her grave.

"**I don't have a grave!"** She cried.

"You don't? That's kind of sad." Hayate commented, prompting Anima to redirect her attention back to pelting the ace with soap.


	18. I Won't Watch the Rain Fall!

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark / Harp, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition, Eith, Sophia / Anima / Amina, Executioner

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven, Duriel

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device, Messengers

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells, "Broken" Sword

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Taeniaea:** That's just not fair, Rim!

**Rimshooter:** Don't worry too much. Everything will turn out okay... probably.

**Taeniaea:** _Probably_?

**Rimshooter:** -Vanishes-

**Taeniaea:** -Eyes widen as she's surrounded by flames.-

**Unknown:** You! Youlet her die! _Again!_

**Taeniaea:** -Is surrounded and can't run away.- Mercy!

**Unknown:** Vengeance knows no mercy!

-Fade to black.-

**Rimshooter:** -Whistles innocently-

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

_I won't see the rain fall!_

* * *

><p><strong>Rift-World: Point of the Suspended Dream<strong>

**-Hinode Seitsu**

She was inert.

Drifting.

She was caught in the embrace of sleep, yet felt so alone. So hollow.

She was at peace, but it didn't feel real.

Couldn't be real.

How could she be at peace? She had failed.

'_This is not peace,'_ She realized, '_This is only apathy. Emptiness. I must wake up – move. Move.'_

_'Move, damn it!'_

Hinode's eyes snapped open. The world all about her was a gently pulsing azure blue.

Then it all exploded in a shower of energy, and she doubled up in pain.

Gritting her teeth, Hinode opened her eyes once more after realizing she'd closed the due to the pain.

She was laying prone on a large crystal spike protruding from the ground – its base obscured by a veil of silver-white mist. Countless other crystal fingers stabbed upward, coalescing above her in a solid mass around a massive gear, as if holding it in place.

A circle was carved out of the gear's center, and within it floated a large, blood red crystal, surrounded by seven azure ones.

"Oh, look here Alpha – it's the Soul-Thief!" An all-too familiar voice jeered. The man it belonged to appeared in front of Hinode briefly, single arm extended and projecting a barrage of small, white orbs, before a large collumn of azure energy slammed into his position and he vanished in a shower of silver light. Moments later, an armored being made up of glowing energy charged by, onyx eyes glowering in fury as it released another blast.

It was a familiar being – the same one that was responsible for her living... but this one was different. Its armor wasn't a single color, but half and half. Where the other had a helm and no clearly defiend features – this one was helmetless and clearly female, with the armor sculpted to match a slight build, and a mane of hair (or the rough equivalent). _"I _isthis_ we_ name _is_ won't _be _will _not – _Alpha_!"_ It exclaimed spouting off a series of words that were barely coherent and tying them into a sentence. It was as if the being before her couldn't decide what words to use, and so used all the ones it could think up.

That was when Hinode recognized the voice, distorted as it was, and her eyes widened in realization. How could she have missed that?

"Really, it's amazing you're even capable of any speech at all." Harp continued, undaunted by the rain of powerful energy blasts flying his way. "I wonder how long that fragile mind of yours will last, though? Maybe if I broke a few of these little-"

Ame – for it could be none other – did not seem to like where Harp's words were going. "_No!"_ She cried, "Leave _them_ they my alone!"

And then she _exploded._

A pair of miscolored wings erupted from her back – one black, one white – followed by seven large, glowing magatama. She thrust her hands (or arms) forward, and the magatama shot out like bullets, glowing with magical power. Harp, seeing the incoming threat, formed a large shield in front of him just before they hit.

There was a large explosion as the two opposing energies clashed, and then the light vanished, revealing Harp's arm was thoroughly singed, but still in tact.

"I keep forgetting, you have just as much power as I do – though you lack the skill to use it." The man mused, purposely speaking loud enough to project his voice to Ame.

"_I _we_ never_ wouldn't _want _it!" Ame cried in response, another series of overcharged energy lances appearing and racing to her opponent's form.

Harp dodged it, of course, vanishing and re-appearing next to Hinode's prone form. "You're right," He whispered – so quietly even Hinode could barely hear him, "but you _needed_ it."

He vanished again as Ame whirled about, arm lengthened in a blade to cut him with.

Alone on the jagged crystal spike once more, Hinode cursed at her inability to do anything but observe.

The titans clashed once more.

**-Rift-World: Corridors of Cherished Time**

**-Hayate**

After shattering Amina's mirror, Hayate had to take a breath to calm herself. '_Think.'_ She chided herself, '_Ame wants to be found. This is her mind. There should be a clue somewhere nearby.'_

A quick survey of the corridor revealed nothing, and a search from Rein served much the same. Unwilling to remain inactive, Hayate decided to simply start walking.

It was all she had to do.

_**It was cold, and hot at the same time. There was fire everywhere. Everything was aflame. The world around me burned, but I could feel only cold. The first puppet came, and it tried to strike.**_

_**I struck first.**_

Hayate stopped, surprised and disorientated by the sudden shift in perspective. That voice... it was definitely Ame's. This was her mind, so Hayate came to the conclusion she was witnessing Ame's memories. Taking a breath to steady herself, for she knew this would no doubt be difficult in some way, Hayate took another step.

_**They were all dead. They had no life as I had life – as the ones who screamed around me had life, but they were now dead all the same. They surrounded me, broken and tossed over me like so many toys cast aside in a fit of rage. The flames drew nearer. I grew colder. I shivered.**_

_**A voice called out to me, and I could only stare. Surely, it was not meant for me. Not directed at me.**_

"_**Stay still!" It cried, "I'll get you out!"**_

_**It was an angel, I dceided. It glowed like I glowed – unlike these puppets around me. It had life. It was **_**warm.**

_**When the last of the puppets were removed, and it reached for me... I latched onto the warmth greedily. I did not want to feel so cold again.**_

_**Would not feel so cold again.**_

"Hayate?" Rein questioned, and the ace realized she had started crying at some point.

She had felt the chill Ame described, even as Ame spoke of it. The hollow, icy feeling in the core of her being. The emptiness.

It was terrifying.

Still... "It's alright. I can keep walking. I'll save her."

Uncertain if she was reassuring Rein or herself, Hayate took another step.

_**I was taken to see a large group of angels, and they rose to greet the one that bore me upon her back. They were friends – comrades.**_

_**There was a bond between them. It made me curious.**_

_**I was taken to yet another, then, and this new one – older than any I had seen previously – took me and examined me, looking to see if something was wrong.**_

_**Why? Nothing was wrong. I was as I was made; thus I was as I was meant to be. Why did she worry so? I was fine...**_

_**...but I would not attempt to disuade her. It was odd, this sensation. Why would someone care about a being like me? I was an ill omen. Surely one so old as this new? It was... comforting, in a way, that she paid me any mind at all.**_

_**I looked around, ignoring the angel at my side. I could not fly, as she could fly. I could not look her in the eye as she bent to me.**_

_**I saw another angel... or maybe that wasn't the right word. This one could not fly either, but she had made her own shackles. She had wings, yet no power to use them. Or, she had power, but no strength. No will.**_

_**She was like a mirror.**_

Trying not to think too long about the implications of Ame's thoughts at that time, Hayate forged ahead.

"_**Hayate."**_

Hayate stopped as the voice entered her mind, striking her harder than all the others before. It was her name Ame had just uttered. It was a memory she had helped the girl make.

"_**Why me?" I asked, confused. There were plenty of others there. Plenty. They were alive. They were human. They were **_**real****_. Why did she pick me? A broken, hollow existence like me, out of all the others? Couldn't she tell? I was already dead._**

"Hayate?" Rein questioned, but the ace ignored her. Or didn't hear her. _That_ was what Ame was thinking, behind that impassive face of hers? She didn't even think she was _real_?

"_**Well..." The angel – Hayate – started, hesitant, carefully picking her words. The white aura within her stirred slightly, as if roused from slumber. "Because you're you. Do I need a reason?"**_

_**I was shocked. A strange sensation came up to fill the void within me. A familiar one. An intimately familiar one, which I couldn't quite place. Hayate stood and turned, and I realized what it was.**_

_**Hope. She had given me hope again. Hope. Hope! It didn't fill the void – I don't think anything could – but I wanted to jump at the feeling. I latched onto it, then, determiend to never let it go... and then Hayate started toward the door, and a cold dagger began pressing against me. Was she going to leave? Just after giving me such a gift... just after bringing me back to life, if only for a moment, was she going to leave?**_

_**Alarmed, I called out to her. "Don't go." I pleaded as sincerely as I could. "Everyone always leaves. Don't go."**_

_**She returned to her chair.**_

_**I decided then that I would cherish Hayate more than anyone I had ever met in this world.**_

_**She didn't leave.**_

Hayate took a breath, her eyes steeling themselves.

Ame was counting on her to come back.

Hayate took a step forward, and the world bent around her.

**Point of the Suspended Dream**

Hayate found herself standing on the same crystal finger that Hinode woke up on. Unlike Hinode, when Ame charged past in full Messenger regalia, Hayate recognized her immediately. She would have called out, were her attention not diverted by the one Ame was fighting.

"Magnificent specimem, isn't she?" The man's taunting voice called from beside Hayate, and without thinking the ace turned, swinging. She wasn't very strong, physically, but there wasn't much else she could do in time. It wasn't that surprising when he, amused, simply caught the punch and danced away from Hayate's reach. "She's managed to hold on for quite some time now, you know. Waiting for you, I suspect. Why don't you go say, 'Hi.'?"

And then he vanished, and Ame charged by again, swinging a large sword made of energy at the positioon he had once occupied and, inadvertently, Hayate.

Hayate's eyes widened as the blade drew closer, and Ame's alongside her as the girl realized what she was about to do, but found herself unable to stop it...

...and then, in a flare of gold and violet energy, they saw Hinode between them, an expression of the utmost determination (and agony) on her face.

"Not. Happening." She grit out, the black scars on her arms widening at an absurd rate until the appendages were almost entirely obscured from view, similar markings crawling up her neck even as a large seal appeared in front of her. "Sacrificial... Seal." She groaned, "of the Younger War God!"

The blade met with the barrier, and was absorbed into it.

Hissing, Hinode jerkily moved her arm up and toward Harp. "Re... lease!"

A lance of impossibly bright golden energy shot out from her extended hand toward Harp, even as the appendage that produced it crumbled to dust alongside its counterpart. She fell then, eyes staring sightlessly into the distance as her arms continued to crumble. The beam shot toward Harp like the wrath of a vengeful god, moving so fast that he barely managed to teleport. He re-appeared on a different collumn, some distance away, and lacking his only remaining arm.

"Finish him." Hinode whispered hoarsely, the last light in her eyes fading as all the color seeped out of them, leaving a pair of blank white orbs.

Hayate and Ame stared in shock for a moment more as Hinode's legs followed her arms... before Ame turned in a rage, an immensely long sword materializing and sweeping through Harp, decapitating him before the girl had even realized what she'd just done.

"Ame!" Hayate cried in shock, and horror – worried the girl had finally lost herself.

The girl turned, ethereal face distraught, before suddenly being snatched up by a massive, black-gauntleted hand... and the girl's current form was itself around the height of Hayate's house.

In front of Harp's body was an enormous torso, clad in onyx armor. The helm on its head looked empty, save for a pair of bleak, silver eyes. _"Messenger."_ A voice boomed tonelessly, _"Have thou made peace with thy wretched state?'_

Ame's eyes widened, "_But_ who _what_ why _you_ mean?"

"_Thou still retain thy mind."_ It noted, almost surprised. _"Thou art a Messenger. Thy fate is to die. Have thou accepted this?"_

"_No!"_ The girl cried, and Hayate snapped from her stupor.

"Rein!" Hayate called, and the spritely unison device answered her eagerly. Hayate's brown hair melted in favor of blonde as she merged with the youngest wolkenritter. _**"Approach from beyond, mistletoe branches"**_ she started, and the massive knight turned to her, sensing a new threat. Releasing Ame temporarily, it reached for Hayate, but the child it had just let go didn't agreee with that plan and bound its arm in a conjured series of chains. **_"...become spears of the moon, shoot and piece!"_** The knight's arm broke free of its bindings and swatted Ame to the side. _**"Petrifying spears, Mistilteinn!"**_ Hayate cried, and seven large white spears of energy appeared, raining down on the knight and piercing it in several places.

The knight froze in place, eyes dimming, and Hayate let out a breathe... only for the spears to shatter and the knight's eyes to return to their full color. _"Thou cannot change the form of that which has no form."_ It chastised, arm coming down on Hayate like a hammer... only for Ame to insert herself in its path, wincing under the pressure it applied as several plates of armor around her hands and forearms snapped.

"Ame!" Hayate cried, and the ehereal girl pushed the arm away, almost toppling the knight's torso in the process, but the damage had been done. The armor around her hands was gone, and the energy they were composed of now flared about wildly.

"Ame." The girl repeated, "That _is_ was _the_ my _name_ you gave. Won't _will_ not _refuse_ forget."

As Hayate tried to make sense of Ame's semi-coherrent promise, the knight's hand returned, swatting the girl like a fly and knocking her away as if she were made of straw.

Having dismissed Hayate as a threat, for now, the knight proceeded to bring its hand down on Ame with obvious intent to simply crush her and be done with it...

...only for it to be knocked away by a volley of silver lances.

"You know," A voice soke, bored, "I hardly expected to have to do this twice."

"_Ninety-second."_ The knight toned, _"Thou has been absolved. Thou knows the consequences of this action?"_

Harp chuckled at some private joke, "Intimately, dear Executioner. Do you think you can carry that threat out, after all these years?"

The Executioner didn't respond – contemplating Harp's words, perhaps – before it brought its hand back around, spears and all, to strike Harp's form.

"My name, dear Executioner," Harp spoke as he teleported onto the Executioner's shoulder, "is _not_ Ninety-second." He chastised, bringing his hand up to strike the side of the thing's head. "I am Harp. Nothing more, nothing less. Go back to sleep." A flare of energy erupted from his hand, severing the knight's helm from the rest of it. The armor shuddered before disappearing as Harp touched down on the ground.

He dusted his hands lightly to cleanse them of some invisible filth before looking up to Hayate, who stood between him and Ame's fallen form. "Now, dear witch... do _you_ think you can stop me?"


	19. Reach the Limit

-Disclaimer-

**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**

**Fan-Original content includes:**

**Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: **Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark / Harp, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition, Eith, Sophia / Anima / Amina, Executioner

**Characters Attributed to Taeniaea:** Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven, Duriel

**Locations Attributed to Rimshooter:** District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.

**Factions Attributed to Rimshooter:** Unknown Faction

**Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: **Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device, Messengers

**Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: **Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells, "Broken" Sword

**...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:**

**Rimshooter:** Don't like how this ended. Far too sudden and one-sided but... we couldn't draw the battle out any more, really. It's been going on for a couple of chapters now.

**Taeniaea:** That's just not fair, Rim!

**Rimshooter:** Sure it is... probably.

**Taeniaea:** That's not reassuring at all. Don't worry too much... we're writing an epilogue and then a sequel to tie things up and hopefully develop the characters better.

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

_Reaching the Limit_

* * *

><p><strong>Rift-World: Point of the Suspended Dream<strong>

**-Hayate Yagami**

Hayate's response was an enormous barrage of ice-blue daggers.

Harp smirked, raising an arm and conjuring a shield in front of him tRift Worldo block them.

"You have power, but no control." He noted as the daggers that would have hit him were destroyed by the shield.

'_He's right,'_ Hayate admitted to herself, '_this isn't going to be easy.'_

'_Don't worry!'_ Rein assured, '_We can beat him!'_

It sounded hollow, but it's not like they could simply give up.

Harp appeared in front of her then, having tired of waiting.

A glowing silver hand came to strike Hayate's head from her shoulders-

"_NO!"_

Suddenly, Harp found himself tossed violently to the side by a trio of glowing azure chains. Before Hayate could react, she found herself wrapped up by the same chains, and then pulled into the ground by them.

**Rift-World:** **Phantom World**

**-City of Mecore**

**-Iri Seitsu and Priri**

Priri was glad Iri had not awoken yet.

The city was aflame.

One could not look any direction without seeing a vorocious blaze, consuming everything it could reach.

The city-streets were lined with corpses. The sky was black a its peak, but tinted red by flames below.

It sent shivers down Priri's spine.

The scene was entirely too familiar for her liking, even though she'd never seen anything like it before.

"_**Dust to dust, steel to rust – city to ash. That's the way the world works, Captain. How long do you think the next child will last?"**_ A voice echoed from somewhere nearby, tone an odd mix of fury, humor, and self-depreciation.

Before Priri could react, she felt Iri shift on her back... and then she winced as a scream of primal fury resounded through the air.

A man was thrown into view just in front of the pair, clad in battered gray armor with a helmet obscuring everything but his eyes – a smoldering, blood-red color.

"Just how far will you allow yourself to fall?" A new voice responded angrily as another individual in battered armor entered the scene, chasing the first... except she lacked a helmet, her face hidden by a veil of silver hair.

"_**How far will **_**you****_ allow yourself to fal, Captain? I can see the blood on your hands."_**

The newcomer didn't respond at first. Instead, she sent several bolts of white lightning into the man's chest with a flick of her wrist. "You know nothing."

"_**Is that so?"**_ The man asked rhetorically, before suddenly casting his hand to the side, a flaming, black chain erupting from it and sailing directly toward Priri and Iri. The captain turned, racing to intercept it, and Priri prepared herself to deflect it herself... when it went straight through her, as if she were a ghost, and struck someone behind her.

As Priri turned, she met the body of the person who had just been stabbed as the woman (for that was all Priri could tell) fell through Priri's form... revealing a girl that looked almost exactly like Iri sitting on the ground, staring with wide eyes, in a pool of blood.

Behind her, reaching out from a large pile of rubble, was a crushed hand, cluthing something tightly to it, even in death.

A brilliant gold light erupted from the hand, blinding Priri, and leaving her standing in the grassy field from before, once more surrounded by broken columns.

"This again?" Priri exclaimed, furious. "Can't you see that there are more important things going on than your games?"

"_How rude, Imouto-chan."_ The expected voice came, chiding, as the silhouette appeared in front of Priri. _"You don't even remember my name?"_

"You never told me it!" The girl responded, irritated. She and Iri were in the midst of a storm, she knew, and they had to move quickly before it caught up to them.

"_I guess I didn't,"_ The figure admitted, rubbing the back of its head as its form gained definition so that it was a white silhouette clad in a visible shirt and pants as opposed to a stick figure._ "Do I really need to, though?"_

Before Priri could respond, the silhouette appeared in front of her, a mouth forming on its face and curving into a soft smile. _"Just ask that gem on your chest, Imouto-chan. You know _its_ name, right?"_

A head of silver hair formed on the silhouette then, followed by a silver barette shaped like a water lily.

Priri's eyes widened in realization. "Ren." She spoke softly.

The silhouette became a girl, identical to Priri and Iri in everything save hair color. "Nice to meet you, Imouto-chan." She said pleasantly. Priri opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced as Ren suddenly... shifted. She vanished, and then appeared again right in front of Priri with a finger to her "imouto's" lips. "No time. You need to wake up. They need your help."

"But-" Priri started, but Ren's finger turned into a full palm... and then the phantasmal girl closed her eyes.

**Rift-World: Shattered Mirror**

**-Hayate Yagami**

Hayate felt a sudden wave of vertigo as she was dragged through the floor.

Up became down, and down became up... and somehow she herself had been flipped so that instead of crashing into what used to be the ceiling, Hayate found herself standing on it.

This area was much like the last, only lacking all the random crystals encroaching upon the gear. Instead, there were only a couple, well-crafted crystal spikes jutting from the ground in a pattern above Hayate.

It was upon walking closer to one of these spikes that Hayate realized what they were.

"You try too hard." She muttered, placing a hand on the crystal and charging it with magic.

Harp weaved through another volley of chains as he closed with his target, only to stop and throw up a shield to block a blow from glowing blue sword.

"You're much more persistent than I gave you credit for." He noted, staring into Ame's empty, wrathful eyes.

The girl-turned-messenger didn't respond, instead pressing the sword deeper.

"Lost it completely, have you?" The robed man commented, dispelling the shield as he swatted the sword to the side, breaking it in half. "About time."

He charged, but Ame vanished, re-appearing behind him with another volley of chains launching at him from her wings. Harp turned, deflecting the chains with a shield before rushing through them once more, his hand plunging through Ame's breastplate and into her heart.

The battle froze.

Images flashed through Ame's mind, broken and incomplete. Of death, of fire and ash... and of life. People. A dream that she didn't wan to wake up from.

Harp began to pull on her core, and Ame's form began to unwravel.

First went the armor. Countless orbs of black and white energy that drifted along Harp's arm and into his own core... then Ame's form itself – a wraith-like parade of azure fireflies drifting to the same destination...

...then the soul beneath both armors. The psyche he had worked so hard to call back. Sophia.

There was no stopping the process once started, and so Harp could only watch as her form, too, faded away into so many little specks of light. It made him want to kill himself, to lay down and die... but that was impossible. He'd made sure of it himself, so he couldn't go back. So he would follow through when the time came.

So he would become a demon.

The world began to fall apart.

Ame's mindscape had degnerated into an endless white plain.

Alone in the depths, Ame's consciousness trembled as she fought to resist Harp, even as she deteriorated as a result of simply existing.

"_Onee-sama... you must help her."_ A voice echoed.

"**Much as I dislike it – she's right. If we leave things be... _he_ will succeed."**

There was a period of silence, before Sophia appeared in front of Ame, promping the girl to look up, confused.

"Do you trust me to save you?" She asked softly, "If you do... then take my hand, and we can fight him together."

The girl stared at her, skin peeling away in several places to reveal glowing magical runes, one half her face completely obscured by magical energy leaking outward... and then she took the hand.

It happened in mere moments.

One, Harp was draining Ame's magic successfully, ... the next, and the magic recoiled from him, burning his arm as it went, gathering several feet away, where it reformed into the Messenger of Despair.

Only instead of twin orbs of endless night and shadow, he saw a golden sun and an endless sea.

"You merged." It was a statement of fact.

In a spit second, he was encased in azure chains. As Harp was freeing himself, the Messenger held out a hand and, in a flash of azure light, Harp found himself facing several confused aces and adept mages who, upon seeing him, quickly grew angry as they realized the situation.

"What, can't kill me by yourself?"

A chain struck him across the face as the Messenger charged. _You cannot be killed by my hands._ It stated, blade-like wings sprouting from its back and lashing out at Harp in the manner of a snake, only for him to take to the air.

Blinking, Harp suddenly found himself impaled at the point of an enormous gathering of chains.

_And niether can we be killed by yours._ The messenger continued, whirling about and striking Harp with several more chains as he teleported back to the ground, only for him to teleport again, appearing directly in front of his opponent. The wings lashed out once more, but Harp weaved around them, closing in to strike the Messenger in melee...

...but to no avail as he found himself bound by chains protruding from the ground. The messenger pinned him to the ground with its wings, viciously stepping on him and breaking his neck. He panicked, teleporting behind his opponent... just in time to be caught by a merciless back-hand as the Messenger's other hand came back after the first struck him, grabbing him by the neck.

_But because of you, we might meet our end at last..._ Several rings of azure magic surrounded Harp, and he found himself unable to teleport. _Your suffering, however, will be eternal penance for your crimes_

And then, it was over. Harp vanished, and the various mages gathered found themselves standing in the hospital, which had somehow escaped damage or been restored.


	20. Epilogue

-Disclaimer-

_**Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Epilogue**

* * *

><p><strong>Immediately after Harp's Demise<strong>

**District IV Hospital**

**Hayate Yagami**

Hayate blinked, as if making certain this scene was real. The gear, crystals, etc. had all vanished. Instead she found herself standing atop the hospital roof. Suddenly, an urgent thought came over her.

'_Where's Ame?'_

**Narration**

_**Ame Yagami, upon being officially acknowledged by the TSAB as an individual after the Red Sky Incident's official conclusion, was marked as "Missing – Presumed Dead." The being who called himself "Hark" was labeled an international criminal of the highest caliber and a constant watch was placed out for him, but to date no news has been obtained.**_

_**Hayate Yagami was nearly court-marshaled were it not for the timely intervention of Admiral Harlaown and the testimony of those others present. Hinode Seitsu was placed in the critical care unit of District I's high security ward in the hopes of hearing her testimony upon recovery (in addition to the extra information she surely know and its source.) Similarly, "Raven" was placed in another room in the same ward due to her relationship with Harp and several... unusual conditions (not the least of which was the worry she'd turn out to be a living bomb as well). Without Ame, though, communication with her was next to impossible at best.**_

"_**Priri" was not placed into the hospital and instead sent to high security prison for questioning. She revealed everything she knew regarding the incident, which was **_**shockingly****_ little. When her linker core began to show erratic behavior and she started to exhibit signs of genetic degeneration, she was sent to the District I hospital as well. After an... incident... she was also placed on suicide watch._**

_**Iriai Seitsu was unofficially adopted by the Takamachi family until Hinode's recovery (should it prove possible.) "Secele" and "Eternity" both went missing, but the remains of "Destiny" were recovered and sent to Research and Development for examination. After seven years, active watch for perpetrators of the Red Sky Incident deteriorated to a passive alert file should any pass through a security checkpoint, much to the Aces' chagrin (particularly Hayate's). After this period, "Raven" also vanished without explanation; there one moment and gone the next. Similarly, Priri was released from the hospital's security ward and moved to more standard care areas after it was determined she was no longer a threat. Iri took to visiting her.**_

"Of course, nothing's ever that simple."

* * *

><p><strong>Neyr Deus<strong>

**-Story of the Four Birds-**

**Teaser**

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day, Present Time – Hahahaha!<strong>

**-District I, Military Hospital**

**-Hinode Seitsu**

_She stands in the hospital, near the edge of the room, trying to reconcile the scene before her with what should be... and what was._

Clean white streets red with fire and blood. Mists of ash – a normally blue sky turned black. Everything tainted by red. False snow...

_Not even this room was untouched. The wall before her was gone. The Bureau... it had failed. Blood marked the walls and ran down her shirt in spades... none of it hers._..

Gone. Forever. So many lives unknown... and two that were known. Why? They were not just taken, but stolen. Used.

Why?

_And then the gate appeared. Mammoth. A massive double-doorway, arching up past the clouds and glowing with blue light. Chains hung off it – countless chains – as if tethering it to reality. The clouds parted around it, forming a ring of clear sky. She shook... and then placed the body in her hands aside._

How much was real? It was all real... from the first time it was known, before it even occurred. Everything was gone... she left. She fought...

She died, and was given one last chance.

_And she would succeed..._

After what felt like an eternity, her eyes opened. They were impossibly heavy, as if invisible rope had tethered them down, and it took far too long to open them even a sliver. The world was blurry and, dim as the room may have been, her eyes throbbed with pain.

Sight... and then sound.

The muffled sounds of a hospital; steady beat of an electrocardiograph, distant voices, constant hum of lights and the periodic drip of an IV.

'_I am alive...'_ It was a thought both disappointing and inspiring. She could not go on,... but she could still live one.

Touch... Pain.

It hurt everywhere, now that she was awake. Her heart burned as if stabbed; everywhere else like fire. Her limbs especially hurt and, opening her eyes, she realized it was a phantom feeling... there were no limbs present to be in pain. Small in comparison to all else, the cold sensation of wet tears made a soothing bomb for her tortured skin. She made no sounds.

"Reckless. Stupid." A voice cut in; harsh, pained. Grief-ridden. It was like listening to herself. "Foolish... _idiotic._ You want to die that badly?" A pause, and then a quiet statement likely no tmeant for Hinode's ears, "Hypocritical of me, to be sure."

Hinode's eyes found the source at last, a young woman standing in the corner of the room. Ebony hair hung around her head in an untamed mane and slitted red eyes stared at the injured mage in reflection. In one hand was something producing an orange glow, presumably a device. _'Who is this? Why is she here? This is probably the high security ward considering I'm still a criminal, legally speaking... so how is she even here?' _Hinode tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Something like a soul, hm?" The stranger murmured, eyes staring almost through Hinode. Past her. "Mortals are silly, no? It would seem I tried my best to mimic that, now that I look at it objectively... Then again, I was never all that typical." The stranger's eyes flitted over to the door and she continued, addressing Hinode directly, "You won't recover, you know. Your... linker core... has been nearly annihilated. Shalyan is doing its best to both preserve and damn you, it seems... but then again it doesn't truly belong to you. Not even to _her._" The eyes returned to Hinode and perhaps she might have stiffened or shuttered if she had the capability, "We both know its true wielder... I need it to slay her all the same. Her shadow, and the twisted light that cast it forth."

Hinode tried to speak once more and was rewarded this time with a dry rasp. Her eyes were becoming increasingly clear and now her cold amethyst stare had hardened nearly into flint as she gazed at this stranger. Something entered the blood-filled pools as this occurred. Some emotion Hinode had no hope of understanding or interpreting, only acknowledging. When next the stranger spoke, her voice was even heavier. "Oh I know what you must be thinking. It is the only way to slay either. To pull Shalyan forth though... I ask you, is revenge really all that important? Perhaps the family that lives is more a treasure to be tended than the one that died."

At last, Hinode found it in herself to speak – a single word. "Who?"

She was rewarded with a bitter smile. "Who? Who indeed? It is a question I can never seem to answer. I was not who I was told I am, but neither am I who I thought I was. My name was never mine, and yet the world insists it is... Hinode Seitsu, the Dawn over the Sea, the Sight... I am Wrath, but I am also Solace. I am a wanderer, you see, who has been tethered to a single point. A single being. I am not myself, but you may call my by name all the same... you know me after all." The glowing hand released something, and Hinode's eyes widened in surprise. "But then again, I do not even know myself. Perhaps I never have."

Red eyes drifted away from the door. "We don't have much time so I ask you... do you want to live, or do you want to succeed?" The stranger ('_Or was she, really?'_) had an almost pleading expression on her face... It did not affect Hinode's answer in the slightest.

"Save... them."

The red-haired enigma closed her eyes and took a breath. "That is a wish I understand so... don't worry. _Sel tyr si vi._" Hinode closed her eyes and lost vision of her companion. "Your wait is over..."

Darkness.

"_I'm sorry._"

Numbness.

"_I'm sorry._"

Nothing.

"It's not easy, is it? To know everything that's going to happen... maybe that's how she felt. _Eb et sollum._"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note (Rim):<strong> Yeah... been forever and a day we know._

_**Author's Note (Tae):**_ _Things will hopefully make sense in the sequel (and prequel). In the mean time, care to share conjecture?_


End file.
